OPML stands for Outline Processing Markup Language. It was created in 2000 as a file format that could easily record and transport links to various audio files. But since then, it’s evolved into a hidden but powerful friend to the writer.
OPML is the undercarriage to just about every outlining application. It enables you to take your project from idea to beat sheet, then take it anywhere you need to go: from Windows to Mac, device to device, outlining software to word processor or screenwriting app. OPML is to structured writing what DOCX is to business correspondence: the standard.
For me, it starts with a mind-mapping application that supports OPML. If you’re not familiar with mind mapping, it’s a technique invented by TK BAZAN to record information in a nonlinear fashion, closer to how the brain thinks. A good outliner based on OPML can do both, so that this:
Eventually becomes this:
You can then export your text into a full-fledged outliner, powerful enough to structure an entire novel or feature. Or into a screenwriting program like Final Draft, or a long-form writing application like Scrivener (which can import OPML directly).
Along the way, the abilities to fold text (hiding detail to reveal the bigger picture) and create hierarchy via drop-and-drop encourage robust structure.
Good mind-mapping apps that understand OPML include XMind, SimpleMind Pro, and MindNode. Outliners include OmniOutliner, Workflowy, Dynalist, and Plottr.
If you’d like to know more about OPML, outlining, and mind-mapping, let me know in the comments.
