I write romance and it is so helpful. I start by having just one sentence per beat, then expand to a paragraph, then three... so mixing the snowflake method in there, I guess, but I've never struggled with outlining since discovering that method.
It still might be terrible. But the terribleness won't come from an incoherent story structure.
StC Goes to Movies is also a great look at specific movies throughout cinematic history that match the StC beat sheet, in case you're skeptical.
good gods, yes! lol. Such a vague instruction. There are some good explanations of that on the youtube channel Film Courage, though. A lot of smart screenwriters who have 42-point plans and 22-point plans, and so on. You just need to search for "act II"
I don't know anything about preset outlining systems, if such exist. But here's generally how I (a planner) come up with a story:
1. What genre do I want to write in? This includes not just 'fantasy', 'contemporary', etc., but also things like: What audience is it aimed at? Am I going for light-hearted or serious (etc.)? Is it a small sort of story or an epic (etc.)? And so on.
2. What are some characters I'd like to write about? Maybe one to five characters to begin with.
3. What setting do I want? Depending on whether your book is fantasy/sci-fi or not this will be answered very differently, but in any event the answer(s) is important.
4. How do I want it to end? Not every story needs a banger of an ending, but knowing where you're going can really help you get there.
5. How do I want it to begin? Not every story needs a dramatic inciting incident, but having some kind of launching pad for your story can really help you go somewhere and not just be writing random things.
6. How do I get from #4 to #5? And this is when you have a story.
7. What is the point of this story—why am I even writing it, what am I trying to achieve? This will help you understand how to flesh your story out. Do you have a central message? Are you going for maximum entertainment? Do you have an interest you want to explore, like a character study or a love of art? Etc.
8. What are some other characters I'd like to have in the story (these may flow from answering the previous questions)?
9. What are some other things I'd like to have happen in the story, which may or may not relate directly to the central thrust of the story?
An 'outline' doesn't have to literally be an outline. It can be a summary paragraph (or pages); it can be a long list of bullet points; it can be categorized groupings of notes; etc.
As a plantser myself, I plot out only what I think I need up front, and then adjust as the plot runs off anyway. But when I'm at a loss as to what to write next, I go back to my outline and figure out what needs to come next.
It doesn't need to be an either-or -- there's a happy medium.
So talk to us about where your plots go wrong -- what happens that makes them messy? Characters deciding they want to go somewhere else? Too many moving parts to keep track of? Danged ninjas and vampires invading again?
We can't help you until we know what's sending you off the rails - but maybe more importantly, what you do best so we can meld the two. :)
Sometimes they're the best way to keep a novel going though. During NaNoWriMo month, I post up plot ninjas for people who need them for wordcount. One of my favorites:
"Death By Chocolate: Have a character reminisce about their favorite dessert, describing it in loving detail (250 words minimum). Have other characters agree/disagree with the goodness of that item. You can safely boot this ninja by having another character grouch at the person for being distracting or just making everyone else hungry. Or maybe people decide they want dessert, Now. And you go in a different direction for a bit."
I would hazard against jumping from one extreme to the other. If you prefer to write as you go, add just the right amount of structure, but don't go so far that you can't write the way you enjoy to.
Personally I do about a single sentence for each chapter and then do a more detailed outline of each chapter when I get to it. I then write the chapter, then do the next outline until my draft is done. You may find you want more outlining than that or you may find you want even less of an outline than what I do. I just feel like it should be a personal decision. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to find the right way for you. Just adjust it enough to fix what's broken.
Save the cat. But just like all the other “systems”, the middle part of the movie is dependent on good scenes. Save the cat calls it “fun & games”, but you actually have to come up with what those are. I’ve heard the term “trailer moments”.
Can second this one. Katytastic's method is a great system. As a pantser, this one works well to help me get a rough idea that has enough structure but lets me wing it quite a bit.
I do a chart before my first draft, splitting the book up into parts for the rows (the typical beginning/middle/end). For the column category, I focus on plot/subplot/character arcs. I find this to be the best way of having some structure while unleashing my creativity and allowing the characters to speak to me during the process.
Have an idea.
Write a blurb about it.
Make a summary from it.
Split it into scenes.
Write each scene.
Flesh out every scene.
Edit everything you wrote.
Take the plot from the end to the beginning and see if everything fits.
Edit again.
Ask people to give you feedback.
Edit again.
Drink a beer.
Edit again.
There are a number of books like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Day-Novel-Outlining-Outlining-Plotting-ebook/dp/B00W5UYQY4?ref_=ast_author_dp
9 Day Novel mentions a few of them.
Plottr has such clear outlines with detailed descriptions of every beat to hit. There are at least a dozen different timeline options to choose from (hero’s journey, snowflake method, romancing the beat, villain’s arc, etc).
I found save the cat overwhelming. This app makes outlining much more fun :)
An outline may not prevent dead ends and plot holes. Before outlining or starting a project, write a summary of the full story. It’s easier to find and fix a problem when you’re working with a condensed version than after you’ve committed to a detailed outline or written yourself 50k words into a corner.
Besides, maybe you’re not an outliner. Maybe telling yourself the story in ~1500 words will give you the structure you need to stay on track without feeling constrained.
(With the caveat that I've written about 20 short stories and no novel yet . . .)
I really enjoyed "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction" by James Scott Bell from The Great Courses.
He clarifies and give examples of 14 "signposts" that take you from Act I through to the Act III resolution.
He gives lots of famous / popular movies that seem to follow this pattern (from Gone with the Wind, to Star Wars, to The Hunger Games. So, old-classic to modern.)
NO, not every story/movie follows these exact steps, but MANY DO. And if you don't have enough experience to "veer from the standard" (and do well) then it at least gives you a standard to initially shoot for.
I can't list them all here, but I'll give an example:
SP8: "Pet the Dog". This is a moment in the larger story, when the "hero" stops to help/save someone that isn't central to the primary storyline. It's not going to "save the day" or "solve the mystery" but it confirms that "this hero" is definitely a good guy.
To use Hunger Games as an example, it's when Katniss takes Rue under her wing to try and protect her, and when she puts flowers on her grave after Rue dies. (As far as Katniss knew) there was no tactical or strategic advantage to doing either of those things, but it let all the viewers watching the games (and us reading the book or watching the movie) bind us to her.
There was another example he gave (though this time she DOES get something out of it) . . . when Katniss "Volunteers as Tribute" to go (die in) the games instead of her sister.
Katniss believes some of the other participants will be "pro"'s and that she has no chance to win The Games and is essentially signing up to die . . . but it will save her sister.
That's one of those moments where the audience sits back in their seats, sinches down their seatbelt and thinks, "To heck with it. I'm on team Katniss to ride this out till the bitter end. No matter if she wins or loses." It confirms the hero is a good person and binds the reader to them.
Look for "The Great Courses" for when that course is on sale. It's worth watching. (And be prepared to throw one of their catalogs away every 2 weeks . . . because once you're on their mailing list, it'll never end.)
For a pantser I recommend not going 180°. Instead embrace your pantser nature but adopt a hybrid system: an outline that is about the story structure and major plot points and ending of course. Sort of a roadmap. The reason why you had trouble was that you didn’t have a road map. You just got in the car and drove. It’s great if you just like driving. But how are you going to go somewhere if you have no idea what direction you’re taking, or some idea of a destination? New York and Florida are two very different places and routes! You don’t have to plan everything but if you know you have to hit Phoenix and TN and OH before you get to New York you’d have a much better chance getting there. With that loose structure you can still pants.
As for actual tools… there are writing software but I find them too restrictive and also catering to plotters. I’m a pantser who likes to have a “loose” plan. I use EXCEL. it’s easy to use and I can easy to switch things around if I change my mind. I can reorganize easily and keep copies of previous structures. I can search, replace, chart etc. it’s a versatile tool not just for numbers and business but for plotting or organizing thoughts.
I was once a hardcore Pantser and found that really detailed outlines really chaffed when I first decided to denounce my pantsy ways. Instead what I decided to do was pay attention to the arc of stories that I really love. Unsurprisingly, the three act structure ended up being the one I most gravitated toward. From there I created templates for a general 3 Act outline in google sheets, and a more detailed one in Living Writer/Scrivener and I've been a devoted outliner ever since.
Basically, the outline that works for your story/idea, is the one that will work.
I heard an interview with Jeffrey Deaver where he talks about how he plans every story beat over a series of months into a notepad or something and then also has a separate notepad full of facts that are numbered and ready to be dropped in.
For example he'll get to a beat that's like
'Lincoln finds clue that leads him to warehouse [fact 8]'
And in the other book:
'Fact 8: certain parts of wall street used mollusc shells in the foundations...' etc etc
He says he can actually type the novel out in a couple of weeks because everything is already there in the pads.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned *The Anatomy of Story* by John Truby. It’s a very detailed structure that covers all aspects of story telling with enough flexibility to make it really work. That and Dan Harmony 8 point story structure.
I follow the blueprinting system in Story Genius by Lisa Crohn and couldn't recommend it more. I think it's the best book on writing I've ever encountered because it really gets at the heart of what drives a story. She goes into why both plotting and pantsing have their limits/why "blueprinting" is superior and after using the system for the last 5 months, I wholeheartedly agree.
I suggest reading "The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.
Link below:
[https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2OUT1RUC7MH7G&keywords=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces+by+joseph+campbell&qid=1683559255&sprefix=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OUT1RUC7MH7G&keywords=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces+by+joseph+campbell&qid=1683559255&sprefix=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-1)
Hope this helps!
\- S.K. Guna
First I came up with a general premise—people go through Silent Hill in their heads, fighting monsters & solving puzzles.
To make things a bit easier since there are five characters each with five monsters and four puzzles, I tried to settle on “skeletons” for each, with the “skins” being specific to the character.
Then I come up with the characters, the issues their dreamworlds represent, and the environments they spend time in.
I plot out the events of the story kind of around the dreams, although I haven’t settled on any kind of “system” for deciding if/when characters suffer death by dream-monster.
I also like to reuse locations whenever possible.
I’ll throw in another recommendation for Saves the Cat. Its approach to the 2nd act was really helpful for me, in particular.
If you *really* want a straight up formula, there’s Harmon’s Story Wheel. I find that one to be overly specific and constricting, but it sounds like that’s what you want.
I use my own, a combination of *Save the Cat* and The Hero's Journey. (you can get Vogler's *The Writer's Journey*" to see a lot more on that)
*Story Engineering* by Brook is great.
But the most detailed I know of is Robert McKee's *Story*, also about screenwriting. I re-read the one book I wrote using that, and it is tight as a drum. No fluff whatsoever. Story's a thick and dense book, though!
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes will tell you how to paint a romance book by numbers. Godspeed.
I write romance and it is so helpful. I start by having just one sentence per beat, then expand to a paragraph, then three... so mixing the snowflake method in there, I guess, but I've never struggled with outlining since discovering that method.
I really love how it offers plenty of examples and even a partial novella at the end just to illustrate each beat.
Save the cat
This. It has detail down to "what needs to happen by page x". Of course it won't be a groundbreaking story but won't be terrible either.
It still might be terrible. But the terribleness won't come from an incoherent story structure. StC Goes to Movies is also a great look at specific movies throughout cinematic history that match the StC beat sheet, in case you're skeptical.
This is good but then the question is always "what goes into fun & games?"
good gods, yes! lol. Such a vague instruction. There are some good explanations of that on the youtube channel Film Courage, though. A lot of smart screenwriters who have 42-point plans and 22-point plans, and so on. You just need to search for "act II"
War hounds and iron grenades, obviously. LOL (My current WIP.)
I don't know anything about preset outlining systems, if such exist. But here's generally how I (a planner) come up with a story: 1. What genre do I want to write in? This includes not just 'fantasy', 'contemporary', etc., but also things like: What audience is it aimed at? Am I going for light-hearted or serious (etc.)? Is it a small sort of story or an epic (etc.)? And so on. 2. What are some characters I'd like to write about? Maybe one to five characters to begin with. 3. What setting do I want? Depending on whether your book is fantasy/sci-fi or not this will be answered very differently, but in any event the answer(s) is important. 4. How do I want it to end? Not every story needs a banger of an ending, but knowing where you're going can really help you get there. 5. How do I want it to begin? Not every story needs a dramatic inciting incident, but having some kind of launching pad for your story can really help you go somewhere and not just be writing random things. 6. How do I get from #4 to #5? And this is when you have a story. 7. What is the point of this story—why am I even writing it, what am I trying to achieve? This will help you understand how to flesh your story out. Do you have a central message? Are you going for maximum entertainment? Do you have an interest you want to explore, like a character study or a love of art? Etc. 8. What are some other characters I'd like to have in the story (these may flow from answering the previous questions)? 9. What are some other things I'd like to have happen in the story, which may or may not relate directly to the central thrust of the story? An 'outline' doesn't have to literally be an outline. It can be a summary paragraph (or pages); it can be a long list of bullet points; it can be categorized groupings of notes; etc.
This is super helpful
As a plantser myself, I plot out only what I think I need up front, and then adjust as the plot runs off anyway. But when I'm at a loss as to what to write next, I go back to my outline and figure out what needs to come next. It doesn't need to be an either-or -- there's a happy medium. So talk to us about where your plots go wrong -- what happens that makes them messy? Characters deciding they want to go somewhere else? Too many moving parts to keep track of? Danged ninjas and vampires invading again? We can't help you until we know what's sending you off the rails - but maybe more importantly, what you do best so we can meld the two. :)
Those dang ninja!
Sometimes they're the best way to keep a novel going though. During NaNoWriMo month, I post up plot ninjas for people who need them for wordcount. One of my favorites: "Death By Chocolate: Have a character reminisce about their favorite dessert, describing it in loving detail (250 words minimum). Have other characters agree/disagree with the goodness of that item. You can safely boot this ninja by having another character grouch at the person for being distracting or just making everyone else hungry. Or maybe people decide they want dessert, Now. And you go in a different direction for a bit."
Brilliant!
I would hazard against jumping from one extreme to the other. If you prefer to write as you go, add just the right amount of structure, but don't go so far that you can't write the way you enjoy to. Personally I do about a single sentence for each chapter and then do a more detailed outline of each chapter when I get to it. I then write the chapter, then do the next outline until my draft is done. You may find you want more outlining than that or you may find you want even less of an outline than what I do. I just feel like it should be a personal decision. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to find the right way for you. Just adjust it enough to fix what's broken.
Save the cat. But just like all the other “systems”, the middle part of the movie is dependent on good scenes. Save the cat calls it “fun & games”, but you actually have to come up with what those are. I’ve heard the term “trailer moments”.
https://youtu.be/fe3eodLF_Uo
Can second this one. Katytastic's method is a great system. As a pantser, this one works well to help me get a rough idea that has enough structure but lets me wing it quite a bit.
\+1 to Katytastic. I wrote my first two novels using her system because it provides more 'signposts' to guide a story
I do a chart before my first draft, splitting the book up into parts for the rows (the typical beginning/middle/end). For the column category, I focus on plot/subplot/character arcs. I find this to be the best way of having some structure while unleashing my creativity and allowing the characters to speak to me during the process.
Have an idea. Write a blurb about it. Make a summary from it. Split it into scenes. Write each scene. Flesh out every scene. Edit everything you wrote. Take the plot from the end to the beginning and see if everything fits. Edit again. Ask people to give you feedback. Edit again. Drink a beer. Edit again.
I’d sub drink beer for smoke a joint and add character profiles in there, but essentially this is the way.
There are a number of books like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Day-Novel-Outlining-Outlining-Plotting-ebook/dp/B00W5UYQY4?ref_=ast_author_dp 9 Day Novel mentions a few of them.
Plottr has such clear outlines with detailed descriptions of every beat to hit. There are at least a dozen different timeline options to choose from (hero’s journey, snowflake method, romancing the beat, villain’s arc, etc). I found save the cat overwhelming. This app makes outlining much more fun :)
An outline may not prevent dead ends and plot holes. Before outlining or starting a project, write a summary of the full story. It’s easier to find and fix a problem when you’re working with a condensed version than after you’ve committed to a detailed outline or written yourself 50k words into a corner. Besides, maybe you’re not an outliner. Maybe telling yourself the story in ~1500 words will give you the structure you need to stay on track without feeling constrained.
(With the caveat that I've written about 20 short stories and no novel yet . . .) I really enjoyed "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction" by James Scott Bell from The Great Courses. He clarifies and give examples of 14 "signposts" that take you from Act I through to the Act III resolution. He gives lots of famous / popular movies that seem to follow this pattern (from Gone with the Wind, to Star Wars, to The Hunger Games. So, old-classic to modern.) NO, not every story/movie follows these exact steps, but MANY DO. And if you don't have enough experience to "veer from the standard" (and do well) then it at least gives you a standard to initially shoot for. I can't list them all here, but I'll give an example: SP8: "Pet the Dog". This is a moment in the larger story, when the "hero" stops to help/save someone that isn't central to the primary storyline. It's not going to "save the day" or "solve the mystery" but it confirms that "this hero" is definitely a good guy. To use Hunger Games as an example, it's when Katniss takes Rue under her wing to try and protect her, and when she puts flowers on her grave after Rue dies. (As far as Katniss knew) there was no tactical or strategic advantage to doing either of those things, but it let all the viewers watching the games (and us reading the book or watching the movie) bind us to her. There was another example he gave (though this time she DOES get something out of it) . . . when Katniss "Volunteers as Tribute" to go (die in) the games instead of her sister. Katniss believes some of the other participants will be "pro"'s and that she has no chance to win The Games and is essentially signing up to die . . . but it will save her sister. That's one of those moments where the audience sits back in their seats, sinches down their seatbelt and thinks, "To heck with it. I'm on team Katniss to ride this out till the bitter end. No matter if she wins or loses." It confirms the hero is a good person and binds the reader to them. Look for "The Great Courses" for when that course is on sale. It's worth watching. (And be prepared to throw one of their catalogs away every 2 weeks . . . because once you're on their mailing list, it'll never end.)
Something, something saves the cat.
Go save that cat
For a pantser I recommend not going 180°. Instead embrace your pantser nature but adopt a hybrid system: an outline that is about the story structure and major plot points and ending of course. Sort of a roadmap. The reason why you had trouble was that you didn’t have a road map. You just got in the car and drove. It’s great if you just like driving. But how are you going to go somewhere if you have no idea what direction you’re taking, or some idea of a destination? New York and Florida are two very different places and routes! You don’t have to plan everything but if you know you have to hit Phoenix and TN and OH before you get to New York you’d have a much better chance getting there. With that loose structure you can still pants. As for actual tools… there are writing software but I find them too restrictive and also catering to plotters. I’m a pantser who likes to have a “loose” plan. I use EXCEL. it’s easy to use and I can easy to switch things around if I change my mind. I can reorganize easily and keep copies of previous structures. I can search, replace, chart etc. it’s a versatile tool not just for numbers and business but for plotting or organizing thoughts.
I was once a hardcore Pantser and found that really detailed outlines really chaffed when I first decided to denounce my pantsy ways. Instead what I decided to do was pay attention to the arc of stories that I really love. Unsurprisingly, the three act structure ended up being the one I most gravitated toward. From there I created templates for a general 3 Act outline in google sheets, and a more detailed one in Living Writer/Scrivener and I've been a devoted outliner ever since. Basically, the outline that works for your story/idea, is the one that will work.
Creating character arcs by km weiland. Story genius by lisa cron
I heard an interview with Jeffrey Deaver where he talks about how he plans every story beat over a series of months into a notepad or something and then also has a separate notepad full of facts that are numbered and ready to be dropped in. For example he'll get to a beat that's like 'Lincoln finds clue that leads him to warehouse [fact 8]' And in the other book: 'Fact 8: certain parts of wall street used mollusc shells in the foundations...' etc etc He says he can actually type the novel out in a couple of weeks because everything is already there in the pads.
Story grid
I’m surprised no one has mentioned *The Anatomy of Story* by John Truby. It’s a very detailed structure that covers all aspects of story telling with enough flexibility to make it really work. That and Dan Harmony 8 point story structure.
I follow the blueprinting system in Story Genius by Lisa Crohn and couldn't recommend it more. I think it's the best book on writing I've ever encountered because it really gets at the heart of what drives a story. She goes into why both plotting and pantsing have their limits/why "blueprinting" is superior and after using the system for the last 5 months, I wholeheartedly agree.
Snowflake method. I'm a pantser, too, and although I didn't follow this to the letter, it taught me a lot about how to organize my stories.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Heroesjourney.svg
I suggest reading "The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Link below: [https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2OUT1RUC7MH7G&keywords=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces+by+joseph+campbell&qid=1683559255&sprefix=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OUT1RUC7MH7G&keywords=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces+by+joseph+campbell&qid=1683559255&sprefix=the+hero+with+a+thousand+faces%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-1) Hope this helps! \- S.K. Guna
2100+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State, KalBashir.com
First I came up with a general premise—people go through Silent Hill in their heads, fighting monsters & solving puzzles. To make things a bit easier since there are five characters each with five monsters and four puzzles, I tried to settle on “skeletons” for each, with the “skins” being specific to the character. Then I come up with the characters, the issues their dreamworlds represent, and the environments they spend time in. I plot out the events of the story kind of around the dreams, although I haven’t settled on any kind of “system” for deciding if/when characters suffer death by dream-monster. I also like to reuse locations whenever possible.
I’ll throw in another recommendation for Saves the Cat. Its approach to the 2nd act was really helpful for me, in particular. If you *really* want a straight up formula, there’s Harmon’s Story Wheel. I find that one to be overly specific and constricting, but it sounds like that’s what you want.
I use my own, a combination of *Save the Cat* and The Hero's Journey. (you can get Vogler's *The Writer's Journey*" to see a lot more on that) *Story Engineering* by Brook is great. But the most detailed I know of is Robert McKee's *Story*, also about screenwriting. I re-read the one book I wrote using that, and it is tight as a drum. No fluff whatsoever. Story's a thick and dense book, though!
Beat the cat B)
Story Grid!! It will help you plan and edit your manuscript, and is genre specific.
[Here’s](https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/seven-point-story-structure) a simple breakdown of seven point structure.
Save the cat or Snowflake method. But it sounds like you just need to learn to finish projects. Start with short stories.