Build a Four-Level Outline

The outline has four levels: a book outline for theme and ending, volume outlines for phase goals and turning points, arc outlines for connected chapter units, and chapter outlines for immediate goals, conflict, information, and outcome.

The editable Author Outline is the official plan and has priority during writing. AI Reference is a separate editable column for alternatives and missing ideas; it never overwrites the author plan automatically. Both are versioned, indexed, and retrievable with source labels. When they conflict, the current author instruction and Author Outline win.

Deleted outline nodes can be restored from outline Trash. Save a version before large changes and inspect the diff before restoring old content.