Writing a mystery means keeping readers hooked and delivering a satisfying end. This mystery novel outline helps you build suspense, organize your plot, and shape a story that keeps readers guessing until the very last page.
Free Novel Outline Templates (By Genre)
If you are thinking of transforming your ideas into a novel, we invite you to explore the suite of novel outline templates available at WordLayouts. These outline templates cater to multiple genres and help to organize your plot points and streamline your story structure. In each template, you will find character development sheets and 3-act structure sheets so that every twist and turn in the story falls into the right place.
Use these templates to sketch your ideas into a story that resonates with your readers and captivates their imagination long after the last page has been read.
Hide
Writing a hero’s journey story? Use this outline template to shape your plot, build a relatable main character, and add fresh challenges. It helps you avoid clichés and organize your ideas into a story that feels both classic and original.
Create characters that drive your story with depth and purpose. This character-driven novel outline helps you build rich, consistent arcs and explore your protagonist fully from start to finish.
Writing a romance novel is more than just emotional scenes. This romance novel outline helps you shape your ideas, build strong characters, and write a story that connects from the first glance to the final goodbye.
This outline template helps you build a strong story structure with space to map your magical world, plot, and setting. Whether it’s a light fairy tale or dark fantasy, it helps you shape your ideas and stay focused as you write.
Best for outlining a novel, this template features outlines for protagonists and other characters and outline for writing the 3 acts for any novel. Plus, it features a section for outlining story beats and plotting the timeline for the novel as well.
A novel is a narrative form of prose. It is a work of fiction that describes human experience as a lengthy narrative. A novel is distinct from other works of literature, such as poetry and short stories. Unlike poetry, which is in verse, the novel is written as prose. Though short stories are also works of prose fiction, novels are longer narratives than them. Some examples of novels are Agatha Christie’s *Murder on the Orient Express*, Jane Austen’s *Pride and Prejudice*, Charles Dickens’ *Great Expectations*, etc.
A defining characteristic of novels is the audience it is meant for. Works of poetry were supposed to be read aloud to audiences; however, novels are for the individual reader. Thus, creating an immersive world and a relatable character is central to the development of the novel.
Novels are written in multiple genres: mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, etc. Regardless of the plot and the genre, most novels follow a 3-act structure and are divided into chapters.
We understand that the main hallmark of a novel is an engaging plot and characters that are layered and genuine. By using these templates to outline your novel, you will be able to handle the complexity of developing a detailed narrative without being distracted. The character sheets will help you create well-rounded characters whose backstory, motivations, goals, and weaknesses will make them come alive for your readers.
These templates are crafted with literary principles in mind and feature the classic 2-Act outline, chapter outline, and character description sheets. The step-by-step prompts in the 3-Act outline will help you maintain pacing, create emotional depth in the story, and create a coherent narrative that flows naturally.
Different genre-specific templates incorporate genre conventions—such as the “red herrings” of mystery or the “inciting meet-cute” in romance—ensuring your story resonates with its audience. With the dedicated prompts, worldbuilding will become easier for you, and you can create a novel that gives a rich and immersive reading experience.
Whether you are writing an intriguing mystery thriller or a magical fantasy, use these comprehensive, genre-specific templates to start outlining your novel today!
FAQs
What formats are available for these templates?
These novel outline templates are available in the following formats: DOCX (Word document), DOTX (Word template), Google Docs, and ODT (OpenDocument Text). You can easily download, edit, and customize the templates according to your needs.
Do you have genre-specific outline templates?
We currently have a variety of novel outline templates designed for different genres, including Romance, Character-Driven, Hero’s Journey, Mystery, Fantasy, and Universal (for any genre). Additional genre templates are periodically added and will be available soon.
Are these templates suitable for series or standalone novels?
Yes, our templates are designed to accommodate both standalone novels and series. For series, you can use the templates to outline each book while maintaining consistency across the entire series, especially with recurring characters and overarching plots.