Novel Outline and Plotting Template to Plan Your Story

What makes a novel memorable? Is it the central character whose struggles and motivations keep the readers hooked? Or is it the story that makes us feel emotions deeply? The answer is that a good story is a combination of both. No story can leave a lasting impression if it lacks a relatable character or an insightful narrative that enables us to fully experience the depth of human feelings. Thus, you may have an inspiring idea, but transforming it into an unforgettable story is a daunting process.

Writing a novel can be a deeply rewarding experience but organizing your ideas and presenting them as an engaging story can be difficult for both seasoned writers and those just starting out. Because of the complexity involved in both developing the plot and characters and the lengthy narrative, it is not rare to face issues like plot holes, inconsistencies in character development, and incoherent story progression. Having a structured approach to writing can help you overcome these challenges. Using a template can bring clarity to your ideas and make novel writing an enjoyable process for you.

This novel outline and plotting template developed by WordLayouts will give you a clear plan for your novel, from developing your story premise to outlining your plot and characters. By addressing each element of novel writing, this template provides you with a comprehensive blueprint that will guide you in writing a novel without losing sight of any important aspect. The prompts for each stage of story development will guide you when you feel stuck and recharge your creativity. With this template, you can focus entirely on the creative process and bring your story to life without having to worry about organizing your ideas.

Novel Outline and Plotting Template

A novel is a work of prose fiction that tells a story about a specific character. It explores a character’s inner thoughts, feelings, and world in great detail and presents a nuanced portrayal of them.

Novels are written in various genres like mystery, romance, science fiction, etc. Novels are usually longer narratives and a short novel is called a novella.

Though we can find novels in ancient literary works, the origin of the modern novel can be traced back to Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote written in 1605. This novel had a deep impact on literature because of the way it described human emotions and set a precedent for focusing on character development in novels.

This novel outline and plotting template is developed for both seasoned writers and newcomers to organize their ideas and draft an immersive story. It is a comprehensive document and features frameworks like the 3-Act Structure and the snowflake methods checklist, as well as character profiles, story beats, and a timeline tracker.

We will now explore each section one by one and explain how you can use it when writing your novel.

Story Premise

In this section, you can briefly write the central idea of your novel as well as mention the main characters.

Setting

The setting of your story is important to provide context to readers and provide a more immersive experience. To develop the setting for the novel, we have included the following prompts:

Place: It can be a city, country, or even a fictional place.
Time: This is for defining the time period in which your story takes place.
Cultural/Social Context (if any): This refers to cultural norms and the economic and political situation of the time. For instance, gender roles, race relations, etc. are important considerations for any story setting.
Historical Context (if any): This refers to any events, movements, and special circumstances of the period. Consider the impact of the rise of the internet or the industrial revolution on people’s lives, and how they affect the plot and characters of a novel.

Examples of the role of setting in a novel

To understand how focusing on defining the setting in your work will shape your narrative, consider the example of Thomas Hardy’s works, which have been set in rural England. Hardy skillfully used the rural settings to highlight the constraints and struggles of his characters. The rural landscapes of Wessex, with its isolated villages, vast fields, and changing seasons, often symbolize the characters’ internal conflicts, desires, and limitations in works like “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” “Far from the Madding Crowd,” and “Jude the Obscure.“.

Moreover, the rural social structure in Hardy’s works is also crucial. The class divisions, traditional roles, and moral expectations in these small communities influence the characters’ decisions and interactions.

With the prompts in this template, you can also focus on the intricacies of your story’s backdrop and use it to express the main theme and the character’s motivations and create an engaging story for the readers.

Main Character/Protagonist

The protagonist, also called the main character, is the leading character in a literary work. He is the emotional heart of the story and leads the action. His goals, motivations, and actions drive the story forward. The protagonist is always in conflict (whether internal conflict or external) and how he overcomes the conflict forms the core of the story.

Let us see some examples of memorable protagonists:

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is a strong-willed, witty, and independent woman navigating social expectations and her own emotional journey.
Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester is a woman shamed by society for committing adultery in a Puritan society. The story follows her as she grapples with public judgment, guilt, and personal resilience.
Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Harry is a young wizard who learns about his past, faces great personal challenges, and eventually takes on the role of saving the magical world from the dark wizard Voldemort.

To create a protagonist for your novel, this outline template features dedicated prompts that will help you create a genuine and relatable character. The prompts are the following:

Name: The name can reflect the main character’s cultural or religious background.
Background: An overview of the character’s past, upbringing, and childhood, which have shaped them.
Physical Description (age, height, distinguishing features): To provide a visual snapshot of their appearance.
Personality Traits: You can discuss the traits that define their personality, such as honesty, humor, optimism, etc.
Motivation: describe what compels the central character to act. For instance, think about motivation such as revenge, seeking justice, etc.
Goals: These are the specific desires or objectives that the protagonist will try to achieve throughout the story.
Strengths: Describe the character’s positive attributes. For instance, intelligence, physical strength, etc. can help them overcome obstacles.
Weaknesses: The main character’s flaws, like arrogance, anger, etc make them susceptible to conflict.
Internal Conflict: Describe the internal struggles of the character, such as the moral or emotional dilemmas that make a character’s journey difficult.

The development of the main character takes time and consideration. The main character must be sufficiently developed in any genre—mystery, romance, or fantasy—to prevent being flat and uninteresting.

Using these outline prompts, you can expertly weave together your main character’s motivation, background, goals, and internal conflicts to create a compelling character that readers will want to support.

Antagonist

In storytelling, an antagonist or villain is someone who works against the main character and creates the main conflict.

Depending on the genre, antagonists in literature can take many different forms. It can be just a bad person, such as Iago in Othello by William Shakespeare. The antagonist can also be a rival and not someone driven by malice like Javert working to arrest Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. It can be a force of nature as well, like the whale in Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Finally, it can be the protagonists themselves in some stories. The protagonist Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s play of the same name is a prime example, as his tormenting guilt ultimately brings him to ruin.

It is important that you create the antagonist with as much depth as the protagonist. If the antagonist is too weak or lacks power, the readers will not be persuaded by the conflict between the protagonist and him. The defeat of the antagonist will also appear too easy and will be underwhelming for the audience.

This outline template contains prompts to help you describe your villain’s physical attributes as well as his moral and intellectual traits. The prompts are the following: Name, Relation to MC, Background, Physical Description (age, height, distinguishing features), Personality Traits, Motivation, Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Internal Conflict.

You can use these details exactly as you have done for the protagonist and create a multidimensional character with a convincing backstory and believable motivation and goals.

Secondary Characters

The secondary characters in a story enrich the plot by bringing details, helping the protagonist, and acting as catalysts for action to move the story forward. Though they are not the center of attention, they are crucial to the plot by bringing a different perspective. Moreover, their relationship with the protagonist plays an important role in highlighting the protagonist’s weaknesses and strengths and drawing attention to their motivations.

There are various types of secondary characters like sidekicks, mentors, family members, or someone to bring comic relief. Depending on your narrative, you can have multiple side characters to enrich the plot and add more layers to the story. Some examples are Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables. His strong emotions towards Cosette drive many actions in the plot. Another example is of Mrs. Bennet, a family member of the protagonist, in Pride and Prejudice. Her strong opinions on marriage not only shape the plot but also provide comic relief.

When you are developing secondary characters for your novel, focus on creating a backstory for them to give them a reason to exist. Their relationship with the main character should be properly defined: are they helping them, are they a rival, or do they act as mentors, etc? Just like the antagonist and the protagonist, the character arc of the secondary characters should be properly discussed so that readers can understand their motivations, weaknesses, and strengths.

To address these challenges, this template outline offers many prompts that will help to develop impactful secondary characters. The prompts include Name, Personality Traits, Background, Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Internal Conflict.

Though the secondary characters do not play an active role in the main conflict, they serve multiple functions in the story. With these prompts, you can focus on all aspects of a relatable character that would enhance the complexity of your story with a dynamic relationship with the protagonist.

3-Act Structure

There is great variety in how you can present your story: short stories and one-act plays tend to have a single act only, while Shakespeare’s works were famously spread over five acts. The 3-Act structure is perhaps the most popular choice for subdividing a story in modern literary works.

While not a single individual can be credited with its development, its origins can be found in Aristotle’s Poetics, where he analyzed the Greek tragedies. He introduced the concept of Beginning, Middle, and End, which form the core of the 3-Act structure of modern storytelling.

Most writers prefer this structure and divide their stories into “acts” and subsections to manage the flow and pace, which aids in maintaining reader engagement.

What is the 3-Act Structure?

The 3-Act structure divides the plot into three stages and provides a clear roadmap for how the story will unfold.

Act 1: In the first act, the reader is introduced to the setting, the characters, and the central conflict in the story. In this stage of the story, the protagonist is at first reluctant to be involved in the conflict due to their fears, weaknesses, or doubts. However, they decide to resolve the conflict and we see their active involvement in the action at this stage.

Act 2: The confrontation is introduced in this part and also shows the protagonist’s growth and struggles. The key elements in the second act are:

Rising Action: The protagonist faces challenges, makes progress, and encounters setbacks.
Midpoint: A significant turning point, often a moment of revelation, success, or false defeat that changes the stakes.
End of Act 2: A climactic moment where things seem at their worst (the “All Is Lost” moment).

This part of the novel comprises about 50 percent of the story.

Act 3: This brings the story to its climax and provides a resolution to the conflict. In this part, the main character will face the main challenge and have a confrontation with the protagonist. After overcoming the challenge, we will be shown how the world has changed.

This part of the novel should comprise about 25 percent of the story.

This outline template provides you with detailed prompts for writing each act. The story elements and their explanations will help you write your ideas in a cohesive and impactful way without leaving any plot holes.

Let us go over the outline sections and explore how they can help you in your writing journey.

ACT 1

In this section, you will find the prompts OPENING SCENE, SETUP INCITING INCIDENT, and CALL TO ACTION with brief explanations of writing each segment.

The first act of your novel is the key to engaging your readers and making sure that they read further. It is in this section where you have to arouse interest in both the plot and the characters.

With the help of these prompts and explanations, you can easily organize this part of the novel with proper pace and rhythm.

ACT 2

The outline template has the prompts THE CHOICE, RISING ACTION, MIDPOINT/REVERSAL, MORE TROUBLES, DISASTER, and TURNING POINT to write the second act.

The second act contains the most intensive part of the story and requires your utmost attention to detail. With each prompt in this outline, you will be able to focus on a particular stage of the narrative and write an engaging segment that flows coherently.

The template not only provides these section elements but also for each prompt, you will find brief explanations to guide you.

ACT 3

In the third act, you will wrap up all loose ends and provide a resolution to the narrative. In this outline template, the third act is subdivided into various stages. The prompts for each stage are PLAN /RESOLVE, CLIMAX, and DENOUEMENT.

The final act should be written thoughtfully and should not feel rushed. Regardless of the genre, it should provide a feeling of closure to the readers and maintain a proper pace.

With these prompts, you can write the stage of the conclusion in full detail and gradually move to the resolution in a manner that will feel natural and make a lasting impact on your readers.

Example of the 3-Act Structure

Let us analyze the well-known work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, written in 1925, and how he utilized the 3-Act structure to present this story.

ACT I

Introduction of Characters and Setting: Nick Carraway moves to West Egg, meets his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and is drawn into the lavish world of 1920s wealth and decadence.
Inciting Incident: Gatsby reveals his love for Daisy Buchanan and asks Nick to help him reconnect with her.

ACT II

Rising Action: Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their romance, creating tension with Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan.
Midpoint, More Troubles, and Disaster: Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy begins to falter as cracks in their rekindled love appear.
Turning point: The dramatic confrontation in the Plaza Hotel reveals Daisy’s inability to leave Tom, which shatters Gatsby’s dream.

ACT III

Climax: Gatsby waits for Daisy’s call which never came. This symbolizes his ultimate failure to achieve his dream.
Denouement: The readers learn of Gatsby’s tragic death, which underscores the futility of his pursuit. Nick reflects on the emptiness of the American Dream.

This example can help you understand how you can use the outline template when structuring your novel. By breaking down each act into various segments, the writing process will become more manageable and will help you present a compelling narrative.

Story Beats

Story beats are significant moments in your novel or screenplay that move the narrative forward. They provide emotional, thematic, or plot-driving milestones in your story and give your plot structure and rhythm.

Each beat serves a purpose in story writing: to advance the plot, show the growth of the character, create drama and tension, etc. Writing a well-constructed beat is important to show a logical flow in your writing. Moreover, these beats play an important role in emotionally engaging the readers.

The beat sheet is a versatile technique that can be used by anyone, including novelists, speechwriters, and academics. It guides your writing and also throws light on any plot holes or sections that seem flat or uninteresting. With a beat sheet, you take a closer look at your story and delve deeper into the character’s arc and the course of the story.

Proper beats will ensure that action moments are well-balanced with quieter sequences, preventing the reader from becoming overwhelmed or losing interest.

In this outline template, we have provided a list of beats to cover the key moments of your novel. These will help you structure your story with a clear beginning, middle, and end and provide a proper pace to the story.

Our beat sheet is influenced by Blake Synder’s sheet, which divides the three acts into 15 pieces.

Opening Image: The initial scene sets the tone and mood of the story, offering a symbolic glimpse into the protagonist’s current state and world.

Set-Up: Introduce the protagonist, supporting characters, and the ordinary world, establishing the foundational context and early conflicts.

Theme Stated: A character articulates a statement or observation that subtly hints at the overarching theme of the narrative.

Catalyst / Inciting Incident: The pivotal event that disrupts the protagonist’s status quo, compelling them to embark on a transformative journey.

Debate: The protagonist grapples with the implications of the inciting incident, weighing their options and confronting internal and external conflicts.

Break into Act 2: The moment when the protagonist commits to the new course of action, crossing the threshold into an unfamiliar and challenging world.

Story/Subplot: Introduce a secondary narrative thread that enhances the main plot, providing depth and contrast to the protagonist’s journey.

Promise of the Premise: The protagonist engages with the new world, encountering trials and experiences that deliver on the narrative’s initial promise.

Midpoint: A crucial turning point where the stakes are heightened, often marked by a significant revelation or a false sense of victory or defeat.

Bad Guys Close In: Rising action as antagonistic forces close in, creating escalating tension and compounding the protagonist’s challenges.

Crisis / All Is Lost: The protagonist faces their darkest moment, experiencing profound despair and the seeming impossibility of overcoming their obstacles.

Dark Night of the Soul: A period of introspection and emotional low where the protagonist reflects on their journey, often leading to a newfound resolve.

Break into Act 3: The protagonist formulates a final plan and gains a renewed sense of purpose, preparing to confront the ultimate challenge.

Finale: The climactic confrontation where the protagonist faces the antagonist or main conflict head-on, leading to the resolution of the central narrative tension.

Final Image: The closing scene encapsulates the transformation of the protagonist and the new reality, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

With each beat, you can write your scene ideas in the corresponding column of the template.

The purpose of a beat sheet is to help you define key moments in your story and strategically place the high and low moments throughout the novel. In this way, it proves to be a key tool for keeping the readers engaged throughout the novel.

This beat sheet template will guide your writing endeavor and fine-tune the narrative by taking a bird’s-eye view of the entire plot.

Snowflake Method Checklist

While there are many approaches to writing the outline for your novel, the Snowflake Method stands out because of its flexibility. It offers a middle ground between freewriting and a strict chapter-by-chapter outline.

The Snowflake Method was created by writer Randy Ingermanson and is helpful for both seasoned writers and someone who is writing their first novel.

The basic idea behind the Snowflake technique is to start with a basic idea or summary of your story. For example, “two strangers meet on a subway and have a meaningful conversation.” The entire story and the character profiles are developed in a series of steps, beginning with this concept and working your way outward.

To help you use this method for your novel, we have included a Snowflake Method Checklist in this template. The checklist has a list of each step and a space to add your notes.

The checklist consists of the following stages:

Write a one-sentence synopsis of your story.
Expand your synopsis to a full paragraph.
Create a summary sheet for each major character.
Expand your one-paragraph synopsis to multiple paragraphs.
Write one page retelling the story from each character’s point of view.
Expand each paragraph from your main synopsis to a full page.
Expand your character sheets as much as you can.
Develop a list or spreadsheet of all the scenes needed to tell your story.
Write a description of each scene.
Use all the above to write the first draft of the novel.

As you progress in your outline, you can mark the stage that is completed and stay organized without missing any important stage of story development.

Story Timeline Tracker

Story timelines are the order in which important events or story beats are presented. The timeline helps your reader to follow and understand the events in your story. As a writer, it acts as a map and helps you when you are revising your draft.

Most fictional works fall into four timeline categories:

Chronological/linear timelines

This is a straightforward timeline. The events are described as they happen from the beginning to the end of the novel. You can use this timeline if your novel follows the traditional “Beginning, Middle, and End” structure. If you are writing a romance or mystery novel, then this type of timeline is a good choice for readers to know how events unfold.

Reverse chronological timelines

The reverse chronological timeline is the opposite of the linear timeline. In this type of story, you will start with the latest event and go back in time. You can use it in mystery or thrillers where the ending is revealed first and the plot explains the previous events.

Framed timelines timelines

This type of timeline is used for stories that are told in flashbacks for instance, if the narrator is reflecting on past events. It is commonly found in historical novels or memoir-style novels.

Non-linear/fractured timelines

This type of timeline is used when the story is narrated between various time periods in a fragmented way. It can help you deliberately create a disjointed feeling in the story. It is often used in science fiction novels.

Our template features a timeline tracker where you can organize the events of your story according to your choice of timeline for your novel.

Let us see an illustration of how you can use this template for various types of timelines:

Chronological/Linear Timeline

Example: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Events are presented in the order they occur, as experienced by Nick Carraway.

Date	Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Character(s) Present	Location(s)	Atmosphere	Emotional Tone
June 1, 1922	Monday	Nick moves to West Egg.	Nick meets Tom and Daisy.	Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle.	Nick, Tom, Daisy, Myrtle	West Egg, Tom’s home, New York City	Calm, curious	Tentative, intrigued
June 15, 1922	Saturday	Gatsby’s first party.	Nick meets Jordan and Gatsby.	Nick observes the mysterious Gatsby.	Nick, Gatsby, Jordan, guests	Gatsby’s mansion	Lively, extravagant	Curious, overwhelmed

Reverse Chronological Timeline

Example: The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Events are presented starting with the end and moving backward to uncover how the characters ended up where they are.

Date	Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Character(s) Present	Location(s)	Atmosphere	Emotional Tone
March 1, 1947	Tuesday	Kay walks through post-war London.	Kay reflects on her lost love.	Viv and Helen argue about their past.	Kay, Viv, Helen	London streets	Gloomy, reflective	Lonely, regretful
June 15, 1944	Friday	Kay rescues people during the Blitz.	Viv starts an affair.	Helen uncovers a betrayal.	Kay, Viv, Helen, other citizens	London during the Blitz	Chaotic, dangerous	Passionate, tense

Framed Timeline

Example: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The main events of Heathcliff and Catherine’s lives are framed within Mr. Lockwood’s narration.

Date	Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Character(s) Present	Location(s)	Atmosphere	Emotional Tone
March 15, 1801	Thursday	Lockwood meets Heathcliff.	Lockwood explores Wuthering Heights.	Lockwood hears Catherine’s ghost.	Lockwood, Heathcliff, servants	Wuthering Heights	Foreboding, eerie	Uneasy, fearful
June 10, 1777	Monday	Catherine meets Heathcliff.	Catherine and Heathcliff bond.	Hindley mistreats Heathcliff.	Catherine, Heathcliff, Hindley	Wuthering Heights	Pastoral, tense	Innocent, turbulent

Non-Linear/Fractured Timeline

Example: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

The story of the Buendía family spans seven generations, but events are presented out of order and reflect the cyclical nature of time. The narrative interweaves past, present, and future.

Time Period	Event	Characters Present	Location	Atmosphere	Emotional Tone
Early Generations	José Arcadio Buendía dreams of Macondo’s founding and obsesses over alchemy.	José Arcadio Buendía, Úrsula	Early Macondo	Hopeful, mystical	Ambitious, idealistic
Late Generations	Aureliano Babilonia deciphers Melquíades’ prophecies, realizing they predict Macondo’s fall.	Aureliano Babilonia, Melquíades	Macondo (in ruins)	Surreal, foreboding	Revelation, inevitability
Middle Generations	Colonel Aureliano Buendía fights in civil wars, rising to power but growing disillusioned.	Aureliano Buendía, Úrsula	Prosperous Macondo	Turbulent, reflective	Cynical, regretful
Early Generations	Rebeca marries José Arcadio, and their relationship disrupts the family dynamic.	Rebeca, José Arcadio, Úrsula	Expanding Macondo	Tense, conflicted	Scandalous, emotional
Late Generations	Remedios the Beauty ascends to heaven, leaving behind a sense of wonder and loss.	Remedios the Beauty, Fernanda	Declining Macondo	Mystical, serene	Awe, sorrow

By following these examples, you can use our template for writing the timeline of your story easily. As you can see from its versatility, you can use this template to create different kinds of timelines for your novel.

Novel Chapter Outline

A chapter in a novel is a section that organizes your story. Usually, each chapter will focus on a particular event, scene, or character. Unlike a short story, a novel cannot be easily finished in one sitting. When you divide your story into smaller sections, that makes it easier for readers to absorb it and follow the complexity of the story.

Consider focusing on a specific goal in each chapter to help your novel become more structured and organized. For instance, one chapter can be about the protagonist meeting their love interest, or a chapter could be focused on introducing the villain and their motivations. In this way, the story will flow naturally and make it interesting for your readers to continue reading.

It is also a good idea to end your chapter on a cliffhanger, as this will keep your readers interested and encourage them to turn the page.

In this novel outline template, we have created a section for you to write your chapter outlines as well. You can also describe the scenes within each chapter. This will help you visualize the structure of your novel and manage the pace of your plot.

Moreover, this will also guide you in developing smooth transitions between events in your stories. And lastly, as you begin to revise your draft, this chapter outline will help you spot any inconsistencies or plot holes as well.

Writing a novel can be challenging and many writers lose track and are unable to develop a coherent plot. This novel outline and plotting template has been developed to guide you step-by-step in each stage of writing. The 3-Act structure and the Snowflake Method help you outline key moments in your story and overcome writer’s block. The character development sheets and the chapter breakdown aid in developing detailed character arcs and managing the progression of your novel.

This is a universal template that can be used for any genre of novel writing. You can tweak the sections according to your requirements but their basic structure will assist any type of creative writing project.

This template is available in DOCX, DOTX, ODT, and Google Docs formats, and it is easily editable and usable in print or online.

Write your next award-winning novel today by organizing your ideas with the help of this outline!