Outline Your Novel

To plot or not to plot - that is today's topic. I'm a plotter and spend a great deal of time working on my outline. However plenty of writers I know are discovery writers or pantsers (as in fly by the seat of your pants), and prefer to discover the plot as they go along. Unfortunately this can lead to wasted word counts and having to reverse plot it when they find holes and inconsistencies. Your novel outline doesn't need to kill your creativity - it is more of a guide to help you along the way and to get to the end faster. 

My FREE 5-day Outline Your Novel Challenge starts March 1st. If you haven't already signed up go to: http://www.serenadepublishing.com/outline-challenge

Before you can write a good plot, you need a good premise. Premise is your book’s central idea. In other words, what are you going to say when editors ask, “What is your story about?” If you can’t answer this quite yet, try taking a step back and asking yourself another important question: Why do I want to tell this story?

You're premise basically comes down to this: 

[Character] must [do something] to [story goal] or else [reason why the audience should care]?

There are many popular ways to outline you book. For example:

•  Mind Map
  A visual approach to outlining that shows the spatial relationships between your plot points, characters, themes, conflicts, chapters — you name it.
• Synopsis
  A holistic story outline that gives a brief overview of the story’s plot, characters, conflicts, and themes in a two- to three-page paper.
• The Beat Sheet Documents the beats of the story in shorthand. Each individual ‘beat’ gets a bullet (or a number). 
• The Skeleton Constructs the spine of the novel, or the key plot points. Imagine a roadmap with only big-name destinations marked in red — the road to get there is up to you.
• Characters First A character-led novel outline. Prioritizes character development, character arcs, and character beats over planning of the plot.
• Scenes and Sequences Details all the scenes and sequences — in other words, the large set pieces of the novel.

Without groundwork, your scenes (and story) will collapse in on itself. That’s why you first need to set the stage for your novel outline. 

J.K. Rowling organizes this story outline of Order of the Phoenix by time (the y-axis) and plots and subplots (the x-axis). Notes on scenes comprise the intersection in between.

The 3-Act Story Structure is perhaps the most widely used and beloved structure. It consists of three acts — or sections — with transitions between each act serving as the story’s major turning points. 

Act One of the 3-Act Story Structure contains three major beats: 

1. The Hook, which captivates readers by introducing the protagonist and teasing the story’s conflict;
2. The Inciting Incident, the protagonist’s first call to adventure;
3. The First Plot Point, which launches the protagonist into the heart of the story.

Act Two is when the story starts to escalate:

1. The Pre-Midpoint Rising Action, in which the protagonist cautiously sets out to achieve their goal while shying away from conflict with the story’s antagonist;
2. The Midpoint, a major conflict between the protagonist and antagonist that highlights the story’s stakes and irrevocably changes the protagonist’s viewpoint;
3. The Post-Midpoint Rising Action, in which the protagonist no longer hesitates to confront the antagonist while fighting to achieve their goal.

And finally, Act Three rounds out the story with three more key story beats:

1. The Dark Night of The Soul, in which the protagonist suffers an unexpected loss that forces them into a make-or-break situation;
2. The Climactic Sequence, which serves as the final conflict between the protagonist and antagonist;
3. The Resolution, in which all or most of the story’s loose ends are resolved.

Within a larger story, there can be smaller arcs. These can flesh out the stories of characters other than the main protagonist and they may follow an opposite course. For example, if the protagonist story is "rags to riches," his evil twin may undergo a "riches to rags" arc. To be satisfying, these arcs should have their own rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. They should serve the overall theme and subject of the story rather than being superfluous or appearing to simply pad the story.

Smaller arcs may also be used for maintaining interest and tension by introducing new stakes in the conflict of the main protagonist. These plot complications increase tension and uncertainty. They can keep the middle of a story from becoming a predictable slog towards a typical resolution.

Within episodic novels and television, there may be a continuing story arc that plays out over a series or season as well as self-contained episodic story arcs for each episode. Game of Thrones is a prime example.

I will go into more detail and even give you some free templates in my 5-day Outline Your Novel Challenge starting March 1st. If you haven't already signed up there's still time! Go to: http://www.serenadepublishing.com/outline-challenge