Are you the kind of writer who needs to see the entire book outline before you can write a single word of your upcoming novel? I used to think that an outline was overrated, but then I found that I was spending months upon months in revision. Some of my books could go through six to seven drafts before I considered them officially done. When I was working on client work, this meant time (and effort) that I wasn’t being paid for.
Instead, I needed to get a firm grasp on story structure so that I knew every plot point that was headed my way through the course of the novel.
Sometimes, my main character still surprises me and I alter my plot outline. A detailed knowledge of who my character is and the situations they find themselves in helps me to revise less frequently. But what kind of outline template can you use to supplement your writing?
My favorite method is the Save the Cat beat sheet which breaks down your novel into fifteen beats. If you want to learn more about outlining your novel with this method (which has revolutionized my writing), pick up a copy of the book. I could never rehash the whole novel here in just a few minutes, and I think this is a must-read for an aspiring writer.
Instead, we’re going to cover the beats in broad strokes here so that you can start to see the character arc come to the front of your story.
Act One: Setting Up Your Main Character and Theme
The first act of your novel is one of the hardest to write because you need to know who your characters are and where they find themselves at the start of the book. Some people have scene ideas and plot ideas in mind. For example, they might know what sort of a pickle the main character ends up in (usually the hook of the plot).
However, other writers only have their main characters selected and are waiting for them to share the sordid details of their lives.
Here is what you need to include in the first part of your story outline:
- Theme: What are your characters going to learn throughout their experiences? You need to set this up with key scenes early in the book. No story idea is complete until you know exactly what you want to impart to your reader at the end.
- Story present: What is going on in the story before you show up on the scene? This is an important stage of the writing process because you should know where you found these characters and where they are starting from so that their arc and growth are readily apparent at the end.
- Catalyst: What is going to launch you into the hook of your story?
Act Two: The Buildup
The first part of the second act is all about your creative writing. Your character profiles are done and the hook is set up. This is usually where the first plot holes start to become apparent. You can nix some of these holes by planning. My favorite tool that I like to use for the buildup of Act II is the Inside Outline, Jennie Nash’s unique outline method. This is where you marry your scene ideas with why they matter for your characters.
The Save the Cat method refers to this part of the manuscript as the Fun and Games.
If you set up your character arc in the first act, your story idea is now ready to transition to actual character development. You are writing the rising action here. All of the little things that have to set your characters up for dramatic change are going to come at this exact moment.
And it all leads to the key plot point: the midpoint.
This is the halfway point of the novel or maybe a little bit further in our novel outline template. This is the moment when things start to change. Your characters are put in a position where they are forced to reckon with who they used to be and who they are now. They might be tempted to go back to the old ways of doing things, and maybe they try it before you get to the next half of the second act.
Act Two: All Downhill From Here
By this point, you have already hit the midpoint which is the key plot point that you were likely leading up to. But wait, you say. My chapter outline shows that there’s still a lot of ground to cover!
The good news is that you still have the second half of Act II to get your story in shape. Novel writing is a long process and Act II is difficult because it is so large and unwieldy. This is why I think it is helpful to think of it as two distinct parts so that you can handle each one separately in a detailed outline.
No matter whether your midpoint was a positive event or a disaster, things are about to get worse for your beloved friends.
Three more pivotal moments still exist in this part of the book, and you don’t want to rush through them. You have a moment when things start to seem like they might not work out. Quickly after, we see that it really doesn’t work out and everything feels like it has been lost. Finally, your character starts to think that they might never get to where they need to go.
Save the Cat calls these the Bad Guys Close In, All is Lost, and Dark Night of the Soul – to give you an idea of how dark these moments can get. If you have any angst reserved, this is the part of the narrative structure where you will want to feel it out.
Act Three: The Big Finale
Last but not least, it is time to wrap up the main plot and get this story out into the world. There should be a clear break into the third act that shows that your character isn’t the same as they were in the beginning. They must respond to the narrative structure introduced in the second half of the second act and it shouldn’t be the same decision they made at the start of the story.
Your finale should include a grand gesture that makes it obvious what change has taken place.
However, it isn’t just a time to tie everything up with a pretty bow. Instead, you should still have some surprises in your back pocket that make this unlike anything the character has faced up to this point. Even if you aren’t writing a mystery novel, you want some kind of conflict here.
A surprise should take both the character and the reader off guard, but it shouldn’t undo all of the work you have done to create change in your character. This part of your writing craft forces your characters to dig as far down into the depths as they can to deliver on their official change. They are not the same person that they were at the start and now is the time for them to prove it.
Of course, your genre conventions might mean that you need a happily ever after. You can still include this in your story. A surprise doesn’t have to take you away from a saccharine ending just because you need to prove that your character has the potential to change. It can all work together if you have a good grasp of how to write a novel outline.
Don’t Let Writers Block Win
When you find yourself dealing with a stubborn case of writers block, you may want to come back to these novel writing suggestions. Keep in mind that you don’t have to follow a detailed outline or mirror this narrative structure entirely. For those who aren’t fans of Save the Cat or the three-act structure, you can flaunt convention – as long as you know how you intend to purposefully deviate from the norm.
Let these tips help you get deeper into your writing craft and act as a novel outline template for you.
If you want help with how to write a novel outline, I can’t recommend Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book highly enough. As a book coach, I can also help you work through the early stages of your writing process and help you create a detailed outline so that you know where your story is headed from the beginning.
This can save you serious time when it comes to the revision of your novel. Reach out to me today to learn more about whether book coaching can help you set up a successful story!
You can also get more beginning writing advice from the professionals here!