Research Flight Safety Foundation archives. I recall a good article on checklists written more than 10 years ago.
The pre flight checklist can be as detailed as you want, but avoid having too much in the checklists you use after engine start. Ideally it would contain only a few essential items. The ones that could hurt you if missed, like flaps and fuel system are obviously a good idea, but resist the urge to include stuff which should be basic airmanship, like switching on radios after start and landing lights at line up. Everybody does that, right?
Try to arrange the checks in some logical flow e.g left to right or top to bottom.
The checklist must not become a distraction to the aviate, navigate, communicate trilogy - it is there only as a backup to the stuff you should have done before referring to it.
A checklist should not be a ‘how to fly this aeroplane’ treatise. Read the operating manual for that bit.