Fantasy literature is set in an imaginary world with little or no reference to the real world. While your novel might be set in an imaginary world, with magic spells helping the protagonist overcome each difficulty, writing the novel must be done in the real world. Whether you are writing your first novel or are a seasoned storyteller, creating an outline for your work will help you stay focused and develop your story smoothly.
The template for fantasy novel outline developed by WordLayouts will help you in your writer’s journey, whether you are a hobby writer or a seasoned author. The Magical Framework of your Novel and the Setting of the Story, are two genre-specific sections of this template that distinguish a fantasy work from other literary genres and help you easily include fantastical elements in your story.
Whether you are writing enchanting fairy stories for children or developing a dark fantasy, myth fantasy, or urban fantasy for adults, this outline will give you a strong foundation for unfolding your creative ideas and keep you on track.
Elements of the Fantasy Novel Outline Template
The template is divided into various sections for creating a smooth flow in the narrative. Each section has detailed instructions to help you use it.
We will now give an overview of each section:
Introductory part
In the introductory part, spaces are provided for you to write the Novel Title, Genre, and Conflict/Problem.
Magic framework
This is the section that makes your novel unique to the fantasy genre. The template provides sections for you to write Types of Magic, Important Artifacts, Source of Magic, Key Practitioners. For each field, prompts and instructions are mentioned to clarify what it means and how you can best describe the role of magic in your novel.
Setting
Once you have identified the role of magic in your story, you can move on to developing the setting. Setting is the most important element in fictional writing, as it lets your readers understand the time and location where your story will take place. It helps you craft a world that aligns with the unique aspects of your fantasy genre—whether you’re designing a dark, gritty landscape for a dark fantasy, an expansive kingdom for an epic saga, or a hidden magical realm in an urban setting
In the outline template, we have unpacked the various elements that can describe the setting in a story. You will find sections to write the Fantasy World Name, Time Period, Historical Context, Social/ Cultural Context, Environment, Mood. This clear breakdown will guide you in addressing all key aspects of the setting in your novel.
Main character/protagonist
The template then provides a space to write down the outline for the main character or the protagonist of your story. The development of this character is essential to the plot as they face the conflict and take the story forward. All the action in the novel revolves around this character.
To help you develop a memorable main character, the outline template provides sections where you write down finer details about them, such as Name, Background, Physical Description, Personality Traits, Motivation, Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Internal Conflict. Once you have these details about your main character, you will be able to bring to life a character that your readers can relate to.
Antagonist
The antagonist in a literary work is the force that opposes the main character. It can be a person, government, or any other power. It is also called a villain or adversary. In a fantasy novel, this character can be a demon, some monster, some ancient evil spirit, etc.
Just like the main character, the development of the antagonist’s character is critical in a story. Without a proper opponent, the struggle and actions of the main character will not appear worthwhile.
In this template, we have provided sections to write down the details of the antagonist’s Name, Relation to Main Character, Background, Physical Description (age, height, distinguishing features), Personality Traits, Motivation, Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Internal Conflict.
The purpose of providing these prompts in the template is to help you develop the unique personality of your antagonist and show your readers the depth and complexity of their character. Once you have worked on these details, you can create an engaging character, which is not just a foil for the main character.
Companion
The companion or sidekick is a character in fiction who supports the main character. Sometimes such characters provide comic relief and emotional support. They can help the character carry the story forward. Just like the main character and the antagonist, the companion also has a unique character and their own challenges. When developing this character in your novel, be sure that you give them a strong, dynamic relationship with the protagonist.
To help develop the companion’s character in your fantasy novel, we have created various sections in the outline template that help you describe the character. You can write the Name, Background, Physical Description, Personality Traits, Motivation, Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, Internal Conflict of the companion in the sections provided.
By focusing on these aspects, you can create a companion character that will also meaningfully contribute to your story and increase your plot’s richness.
Secondary characters
A plot involves not only the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist. To create an engaging story, you must develop side characters that contribute to the action in the story and develop a complex and detailed narrative. The secondary characters serve many roles in developing the plot: they enrich the story setting and challenge the protagonist without being the main enemy, such as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter for instance.
Moreover, they provide the backstory or context to your plot and show the diversity in the setting. Thus, they bring layers and complexity to your story and can influence the actions of the protagonist.
In this outline template, we also focus on the secondary characters and you can create detailed characters using the prompts provided here. The template has sections where you can write details like name (s), background, personality, traits, motivation, goals, strengths, weaknesses, and internal conflict for each secondary character in your fantasy novel.
Once you have completed this section, you will be able to create characters that enrich your story and keep the readers engaged.
Act I
The first act is where you develop the background and context of your story. In this part, you will also introduce the central character and their world and the sidekick as well. This segment of the novel also shows how the conflict arises, how the protagonist reacts to it and is reluctant to take action, what the immediate challenges they face, and finally, they decide to take action and step out of their comfort zone.
To help you maintain a coherent narrative, the template outline has provided predefined narrative elements for you to develop an exciting opening act. The template provides a grid where on one side are the predefined elements and the corresponding column can be used to write your ideas. The elements are the Opening Scene, Inciting Incident, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting the Mentor, and Crossing the Threshold.
The grid contains instructions for each element to help you write an engaging first act for your fantasy novel.
Act II, the middle
The second act is also referred to as Rising Action. It is the bridge between the first act and the climax of a story. The main action happens in the middle part and the complexity of the story is revealed. The purpose of the middle part is to expand the protagonist’s world and move the story forward. In this section, the tension increases and the conflict deepens between the main character and the antagonist or powerful forces. For example, in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and the Fellowship’s journey to Mount Doom intensifies, with each step bringing more danger. It is also in the middle part that we see how the protagonist is emotionally and/or physically tested.
The outline template has a dedicated section where you can easily develop the middle part of your novel. Similar to the previous section, a grid is presented that contains predefined elements for Act II and the corresponding column can be used to elaborate on them. The prompts include Rising Action, Tests, Allies, Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, and Road Back.
With these prompts and the provided guidelines, you can develop a strong middle part where the protagonist’s character will develop, the tension will increase, and set the stage for the climax.
Act III, the end
The last act is where the story will reach its conclusion. The conflict will reach its climax, the protagonist will encounter his greatest obstacle, and a resolution will be achieved. The ending of the novel must be carefully developed, as this will leave a lasting impact on your readers and provide closure. It is an emotional peak of the narrative and gives a sort of catharsis to the readers once the protagonist overcomes all challenges.
In this outline template, we have provided predefined elements for you to develop a climax and ending that resonate with your readers and provide a proper summing up for your novel. The sections include Falling Action, Climax, Resolution, Return to the Ordinary World, and Denouement. For each of these story elements, our template contains comprehensive explanations.
Once you develop your plot following these prompts, you can create a final act where the conflict escalates correctly, the protagonist’s choices are clearly explained, and each character’s journey is properly concluded.
This template is designed to help you overcome writing challenges and organize your thoughts. While the template is useful for literary veterans, the predefined sections for character details and story stages make this template especially ideal for those who may not be familiar with the literary principles of novel writing.
Since fantasy novels involve imaginary worlds, multiple characters, and complex plots, it can be challenging to build an engaging and coherent narrative. Tailored to the unique requirements of a fantasy genre, this outline template will help you create vivid magical worlds, mythical characters, and fantastical conflicts.
By breaking the novel into manageable sections (acts, character development, etc.), this template will assist you in transforming your ideas into a compelling narrative. It offers genre-specific prompts in each section that help you develop memorable characters, create an exciting magical world, and create an epic story.
While grounded in the principles of storytelling, this template will help you at each step of plot development. You can download this template in DOCX, DOTX, and Google Docs and easily edit sections according to your requirements.
Bring your magical world to life with this fantasy novel outline template and start writing today!
