Distill: Reconstructing Your Outline
With the main point established, rebuild your outline from the ground up—aligning every element with your central thesis.
"We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better... stronger... faster."
— Opening narration from The Six Million Dollar Man
With the main point established, you can now begin the reconstruction phase. Your article's thesis now commands the top of the page—guiding the structure that will emerge from the tangle of thoughts below.
Below this sits your rich source material, segmented into an organized Cheat Sheet, and the full transcript below that. Now, you will begin the process of crafting a new outline, with the main point to guide you.
This phase is about distilling the key ideas from your source material and aligning these elements within a logical framework. With AI's assistance, we will carve out a structured outline from the raw material—like a sculptor chips away at a block of marble to form the rough contours of his vision.
Shaping the Outline: From Broad Strokes to Fine Detail
Our first restructuring prompt creates a broad outline based on the main point:
"Based on the main point we identified and the source material, create a logical outline for an article. Organize the supporting points in a way that builds toward and reinforces the thesis."
Here, you are drawing on the LLM's strengths as a reasoning engine capable of processing large volumes of text. Claude's first pass lays the groundwork, saving your mental bandwidth for refining and feedback.
After reviewing its initial outline, you can either continue prompting with suggestions:
"Move point 3 to the beginning—it provides important context. Also, combine points 5 and 6 into one section."
Or do a manual edit. Just copy the draft outline into your working document, edit it to your liking, and then feed it back to Claude:
"Here is my revised outline. Please review it and suggest any improvements for logical flow and coherence."
Frameworks: Structuring Your Narrative
The ordering that makes the most sense can take diverse forms, depending on the framework you decide to use. Ask yourself if your content lends itself to one of these common frameworks:
Before and After: Illustrating pre- and post-solution scenarios
How-To Guide: Step-by-step approach to achieving a goal
Case Study: Real-world application and outcomes
Listicle: Bullet-point format for clarity
Myth-Busting: Correcting common misconceptions
Comparison: Weighing different approaches side by side
FAQ: Addressing common inquiries directly
Most industries have bespoke frameworks as well:
Marketing: "Problem-Agitate-Solution" (PAS) or "Attention-Interest-Desire-Action" (AIDA)
Engineering/Technical: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Education: Lesson plans
Law: Legal briefs
The choice of framework hinges on your material and your audience. Often, the content will suggest a fitting framework.
Refining the Blueprint: Detailing the Outline
After you have your working skeleton outline, the next step is to flesh out the bare bones with the key details from your transcript and Cheat Sheet.
For every section header, identify additional supporting points and examples. You can manually drag and drop bullet points, or use prompts:
"For section 2 of my outline, extract the most relevant supporting points, examples, and quotes from the source material."
I recommend a hybrid approach—using AI as a first pass, but supplementing with manual selection to make sure none of the key points are getting lost.
At this stage, you can also leverage the model's broad knowledge to expand on areas where your initial content may be lacking substance.
The Living Document
The more detailed your outline before you start generating prose, the better the results will be. But you don't need every last detail before proceeding to the writing phase.
Remember, the outline is a living document. It will continue to evolve through each iteration. At this stage, the skeleton is fully articulated, but it isn't something you'd present to readers until you've had a chance to clothe it in lively and inviting prose.
This post is adapted from "Commanding the Page" (2023).