How To: Create & Outline Your Plot In 3 Steps (Patreon)

Rae's Quick & Dirty Plot Guide

Has this ever happened to you?

You’ve spent what feels like forever fleshing out characters for your novel. You know exactly what they look like down to the last detail. You’ve given them complex (and perhaps tragic) backstories. You know their strengths and weaknesses, and you’ve figured out how they interact with all the other characters in your story. But in spite of all that, you still don’t have a plot. You’ve built a cast, perhaps even an entire world, but you aren’t sure what’s supposed to happen next.

Never fear. I’m here to help you come up with an awesome plot, no matter what kind of story you’re writing!

Step #1: Find Your Question

The best plots usually start with a question.

Sometimes, the question is simple. For example: “What if someone retold Cinderella, but it was gay as hell?” was the basis for my first novel, The Second Sister.

Sometimes, the question is more complex: “Do our genes make us into who we are, or is it our memories and the sum of our experiences? What would happen if those memories were downloaded in a different order, or some were erased entirely?” Those questions are the basis for my upcoming novel, Lucky 7.

Sometimes, other pieces of media can inspire your question. That’s okay! The idea for Fur & Fangs came to me while I was watching Ugly Americans. That TV series posed the question: “What if mythical creatures were fully integrated into human society?” I cribbed the idea of a modern-day New York full of mythical beings living alongside humans and ran with it, building a unique world all my own.

Having trouble coming up with a gripping question? Here are some ideas to help you brainstorm:

Read interesting news articles. The questions that inspired Lucky 7 dawned on me while reading an article about artificial intelligence (and its potential drawbacks) on the blog WaitButWhy.

Remember a book, TV show, or video game that royally pissed you off (looking at you, T100). What moment ruined it for you? Use that as a jumping-off point. Put your characters in a similar situation, but have them make completely different choices that lead to a new ending. Boom, you have a new plot.

Write down a list of your interests. It sounds silly, but sometimes that’s all it takes. When trying to come up with a plot for my podcast, Room 13, I brainstormed a list of things I had experience with. ‘Music' and 'Music Conservatory’ came up, so I decided to go with the question: “What if a music student fell in love with a ghost who haunts her practice room?”

Write your question down and keep referring to it as you go. When you're floundering in the middle of your novel, it will be your guiding light.

Step #2: Plot In Thirds

Most stories take place in three acts. When you sit down to plot your story, start with one to three sentences for each section. Here’s an example from one of my novels, Tengoku:

Act 1: Kaede runs away from home because her aunt is using her to perform evil experiments on forest spirits. Imari fears she won’t be able to take over her father’s job because she’s missing a hand, so she hires Kaede to help her find a replacement.

Act 2: Kaede escorts Imari to a magical blacksmith, and during the journey, falls in love with her. The blacksmith trains Imari, but doesn’t give her a new hand — while Imari is angry and disappointed, a fox spirit manipulates her insecurities and her love for Kaede to hypnotize her.

Act 3: While under the fox’s spell, Imari tries to kill Kaede’s aunt in an effort to ‘help’. Kaede rescues her, and then they both rush to save the Empress from the fox’s evil plan.

A short three-act summary will keep you on track during the writing process, and make it very obvious which characters and events are most important. Each act should have an exciting event at the beginning and the end to keep the pacing brisk. Ideally, Acts 1 & 2 should end on a cliffhanger, while Act 3 should end with a resolution.

Step #3: Outline Each Chapter

Once you have your question and a three-act summary, it’s time to plot your novel in more detail. In my experience, the easiest way to do this is chapter by chapter. Although it’s important to give your plot room to breathe in case you want to change it later, having an outline is a great way to fend off writer’s block.

Here’s an example from Tengoku.

Chapter One: Kaede, a noble, and her friend Rin, a spirit wolf, run away from home because Kaede's aunt is performing evil experiments. They are being pursued by Kaede's cousin, Hayate, and Rin’s brother, Kaze. Hayate believes his mother’s experiments are for the greater good, but Kaze disagrees. He’s only willing to go along because Hayate is his friend.

Chapter Two: Imari is dissatisfied with her life as a daimyo’s daughter. She lost her hand in an accident several years ago, and worries the neighboring lords won’t respect her as her father’s heir. A scuffle occurs at the front gate of the city, and she sees Kaede arrive and engage in a duel with another samurai. That gives her the idea to hire Kaede as her escort, so she can go in search of a magic replacement for her hand.

Your chapter summaries can be as brief or as detailed as you want, from one sentence to an entire page. It’s helpful to have a road map, even if you end up changing course later. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. Ideally, you should continue to edit your outline as you write your novel.

And that’s it! You’re ready to start writing. Whenever you get lost, your question, your summary, and your chapter outline will be there to guide you. The end result might differ from your original notes, but you're well on your way to completing a novel.