Your 5-Point Novel Outline
As some of you may have surmised, I have recently converted fully into the camp of the planner\plotter. As a recovering panster, I feel it is my duty to immerse my fellow writers into the world of planning. I understand this will be a shock to some of your systems, so I’ll begin in the shallow end of the pool. You know, the one full of toddlers, where the water temperature is suspiciously similar to that of the human body.
Okay, no pee in our pool, but we’ll step cautiously anyway.
Let’s start with an outline so basic that you’ve probably got it in your head for your current WIP. It involves the story elements you’ll recognize immediately. And each only requires a line or two to describe them. For those of you who are tired of Star Wars, I’ll use something more recent, The Hunger Games, for my example. If you haven’t read or seen it, you’ll still be able to follow along.
Your most basic outline:
Inciting incident: This is what sets the story in motion. Ever wonder if you’ve got too much backstory? Find your inciting incident. It should be near page one.
Hunger Games: The announcement of The Quell. In a bit of foreshadowing, we learn that Katniss’ little sister, Prim, is now old enough to participate, but the odds of her being drawn are astronomical (yeah, you know what’s going to happen).
Plot Point 1: This is familiar to all of you. It’s the point of no return. Where the hero has nowhere to go but towards the journey. It should occur 20-25% into the book.
Hunger Games: Prim (as we suspected) is drawn for the Games. Immediately, Katniss volunteers to take her place. In this dystopian novel, the heroine literally has no choice but to go forward at this point. She’s taken into immediate custody and put on a train to the capital and the Hunger Games.
Mid-point: Think of it as a second plot point. It should be a revelation of the power of the antagonist or antagonistic forces. Your hero should begin to be more proactive after this point and less reactionary.
Hunger Games: It’s really two parts. Either the actual opening of the Games, or the point that Katniss discovers that her ally from her district, Peeta, has teamed up with the much hated tributes from the wealthier districts, whom they call the Careers. Katniss is very alone, outnumbered, and defenseless.
Plot Point 2: This is the incident that both sets our hero to his lowest point and urges him into full-attack mode. Often, a much needed friend or ally is killed at this point (like Obiwan Kenobe). This point should occur at about 75% into the novel.
Hunger Games: Katniss is in a tree. Her enemies waiting on the ground for her to either starve or come down to her slaughter. No hope. At this point, with the help of another tribute who is also hiding in the trees, she notices a nest of tracker jackers (think hornets on steroids) hanging from her tree. She cuts it off with her survival knife, dropping it onto her sleeping enemies. The tide has turned.
Climax: Not much to explain, except make it good. This is where the hero wins or loses the battle. The lovers make their commitment to one another. The killer is caught. The Death Star is blown to bits. It should take every bit of your hero’s whits and strength to pull it off. It should begin with roughly 10% of the novel remaining.
Hunger Games: Katniss and Peeta are forced into a final battle with the last remaining Career. They are victorious. But wait…there’s a great twist at the end. Far be it for me to throw in a spoiler, but you get the drift. Note: I actually thought the author dragged the final battle out far too long. In a rare instance where Hollywood made an improvement, the movie hastened it and made the ending better.
And there you go! So here’s your homework. Make a 5-point outline for you WIP. It doesn’t matter if it’s finished or just a gleam in your eye. If you’ve finished, the short outline will immediately highlight any shortcomings. And believe me, you miss these basic elements and your odds of publication plummet. Fix ’em now before you send it out.
Your 5 points:
1. Inciting incident
2. Plot Point 1 (point of no return)
3. Mid-point (another setback, reveal the power of your antagonist)
4. Plot Point 2 (your protag’s lowest point and incident that puts her in attack mode)
5. Climax (how do you wrap this up with a bang?)
We’ll discuss these in detail later on. But put a sentence behind each of those plot points–which may take you days or even weeks to fine tune–and you’ve got the tent poles in place. Now it just needs some pretty fabric (that’s your plot, dialogue, and characters). By the way, you’re free to change any of these plot points during your writing process. Just be sure the other points jive with your change. If it’s a fantastically awesome change, what the heck, rewrite the other plot points as well. Settle only for you best.
Now go! Make magic!
