Outlining guides the writing process and ensures a cohesive plot by helping authors organize their ideas in a smooth sequence. The following is a basic novel outline that applies to multiple genres.

Introduction:

• Hook the reader with a description, dialogue, or event. The opening chapter should intrigue the reader, and raise questions or conflict while invoking relatable emotion. Create a sense of urgency, mystery, or problem the protagonist faces.
• Set the scene with a unique tone and mood. Include vivid descriptions of the setting and sensory details, giving the reader a clear picture of the time, weather, place, or environment. Show how the environment influences the story with cause and effect, weaving the setting into the action with specific imagery. Include relevant historical or cultural elements.
• Introduce the protagonist’s goals, desires, struggles, personality, and internal monologue.

Inciting Incident:

• Set the story in motion with a triggering event that disrupts the character’s normal life. Give the character a reason to act, pushing them toward their literal or emotional journey.
• What are the new challenges and goals the character must address? Keep raising the stakes until the story’s climax resolves the character’s problem.

Rising Action:

• Raise the stakes higher as complications arise
• Introduce secondary characters, allies, and enemies.
• Develop subplots that intersect with the main plot.

Midpoint:

• The midpoint redefines the direction of the story. A plot twist or dramatic event changes the protagonist’s approach to conflict. New information is usually revealed, intensifying or shifting the character’s goals. Their beliefs and strategies are challenged, forcing developmental growth.

Second Turning Point:

• Something forces the protagonist to confront their fears or desires, driving them closer to the climax of the story. Magnify the consequences of the character’s choices.

Climax:

• The climax is the peak point of tension and conflict. The protagonist faces their main challenge emotionally or physically.

Falling Action:

• Events that follow the climax resolve the conflict, tying up loose ends. This is the aftermath of the character’s actions and decisions, the consequences of the climax.

Resolution:

• Satisfy the reader by concluding the story. Include reflection, address any remaining subplots, and show the protagonist’s new status quo. It should be clear by now how the events in the novel changed the character and their world.

Outlines are not set in stone. Revisit and revise your outline as your story develops. Share your outline with me today and I’ll provide insight on plot holes and inconsistencies. If you need help constructing an outline, I offer video or email/chat consultations.