creative writing plan template

12 Creative Writing Templates for Planning Your Novel

It’s that time of year when thousands of writers around the world prepare to type faster than a speeding bullet, drink coffee more powerful than a locomotive, and leap tall deadlines in a single bound. Of course, we’re talking about  National Novel Writing Month  (also known as NaNoWriMo), and the challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a 50,000-word story from scratch in just 30 days, from November 1–30. How’s that for productivity?

We’ve met a lot of writers who use Evernote to plan, brainstorm, and sometimes even draft their novels. But as any fiction writer knows, the hardest part of any new work is figuring out what to write about in the first place:  What happens next? What motivates these characters? What’s this story about, anyway?

Only you can answer those questions, but it helps to figure them out early. If you’re going to write a novel in November,  the time to plan is now . With that in mind, we’ve created a dozen Evernote templates to help you collect and structure your thoughts. Many of them include questions or prompts to get you started, but you can feel free to replace those with inventions of your own. Start filling them out today; they’ll keep you anchored while writing your 30-day masterpiece.

Power tip:  To use any of the note templates mentioned in this article, click the “Get it »” link and then click “Save to Evernote.” The template will be added to your Evernote account in the notebook of your choice (we recommend  setting up a new notebook  just for templates). You can then copy, move, rename, and edit the note to suit your needs. 

Templates for plotting and outlining your novel 

Are you the sort of writer who wants a solid plan in place before typing “Chapter 1”/ You’ll need a roadmap that begins with a premise and culminates in an outline. There are a lot of different ways to get there, so we’ve made templates for walking you through several of the most popular plotting methods. You can choose the one that fits your personal style.

1.   Story premise worksheet

Your premise is the foundation on which the entire novel is built. With this step-by-step guide, you’ll think about who your protagonist is, what they want, and the problems or conflicts they must overcome. The end product is a concise, two-sentence explanation of what your story is about.

2.   Three-act plotting template

Remember learning in school that all stories should have a beginning, middle, and end? This classic, logical method of storytelling takes you from your story’s initial setup and inciting incident through rising action, turning points, and resolution.

3.   Story beats template

Adapted from the world of screenwriting, this popular method replaces the concept of acts with a set of milestones that commonly appear in many kinds of stories. Hitting these “beats” gives your story a rhythm while leaving the details open to your imagination.

4.   Snowflake method checklist

Maybe you’d rather work from the top down than from the ground up. Inspired by fractal geometry (really!), Randy Ingermanson’s “snowflake method” grows an entire novel from a single sentence. Each step of the process methodically expands upon the one before, filling in details until you have a complete draft.

5.   Story timeline tracker

Regardless of your novel plotting method, keeping track of time in your novel is important. Did your hero get that threatening letter on Tuesday or Sunday? Does the next scene happen on a sunny morning or in the dead of night? This template will keep your novel’s clock ticking smoothly.

6.   Chapter outline

Once you’re in the writing groove, you may not want to wade through all your plotting notes to remember what comes next. This checklist gives you a scannable view of your plot, chapter by chapter and scene by scene, making it easy to see what you’ve completed and how much lies ahead.

Templates for Building Characters in Your Novel  

Even if you aren’t the plotting and outlining type, the more you know about your characters and the world they inhabit, the better your writing will be. The following templates will help you brainstorm and remember the little details that make a story come to life. 

7.   Character master list

Got a lot of characters? This “quick and dirty” list helps you remember who’s who at a glance. Add names, ages, and notes about your characters. And you can drop in a photo or drawing of each character to help you visualize your story.

8.   Character profile worksheet

If you want to go deeper with your characters, you’ll need a full dossier describing their physical appearance, manner of speaking, behavioral traits, and background. This questionnaire covers everything from their hair color to their biggest secret.

9.   Character biography

Now that you know who’s who, here’s a template for figuring out how they got to the situation in your novel. When it’s time to write a flashback or refer to a past event, you’ll breathe easier (and save yourself some edits) knowing you can look up the dates in this simple timeline.

10.   World-building questionnaire

So far, we’ve been talking about the what and who of your novel, but where and when are just as important. Whether you’re writing about a fantasy world or the town you grew up in, this questionnaire will get you thinking in depth about the setting. Then you can write richer, more realistic scenes that draw the reader into your world.

Pulling it all together: Project trackers

A novel has a lot of moving parts. When you factor in research, articles saved with  Web Clipper , and random jottings about who did what to whom, you’ll probably find you have a  lot  of notes for your writing project. Consider adding a couple more to keep it all straight: a dashboard where you can manage the whole thing and a checklist for bringing your completed opus to the world.

11.   Story dashboard note

For a quick overview of your project, use this “dashboard” to track its status.  Add it to your shortcuts  for easy access, and  insert links to related notes  to save time on searches. If you’re writing in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, you can paste the file or link into the body of this note and jump into your manuscript with a click.

12.   Self-publishing checklist

Planning to publish that novel when it’s done? Here’s a checklist of all the important steps, from writing a blurb to editing, design, and proofing.  TIP: If you copy this checklist into your dashboard note, you can easily track your novel from first brainstorm to final publication.

Ready, set, write!

If you’re up to the challenge, sign up for free at  nanowrimo.org . Evernote will be posting more tips and strategies to our blog and social media throughout October and November. We invite you to follow along! 

Originally published on October 2, 2017. Updated on October 12, 2022. 

Story Planner’s easy-to-follow steps help writers plan novels, screenplays and more.

Writing is easier when you have a plan. We take you through each stage of the planning process to help you create a better story.

How Story Planner can help you

We offer a range of story plans to suit your writing style, whether you like a fast, easy planning method, or more detailed story structure.

We look at planning methods so you don't have to. We've selected the very best ways to plan a story and many popular methods used by successful writers.

Our plans can help with more than just plots. We can help you understand your characters, define your story setting, and understand why you write.

Story Planner Helper will guide you to choose the right plan. We have plans for every stage of the writing journey.

INTERESTED IN JOINING A WRITING GROUP?

WriterLink is Story Planner’s sister site. It helps writers meet new friends for support and feedback on their journey to getting published. It lists groups, courses and services to help writers improve their skills.

It took J.K Rowling five years to outline the plots for her Harry Potter books - she used detailed spreadsheets and notes.

66% of writers plan their novels.

The majority of agents ask writers to send a one or two page story outline or synopsis.

"A pantser" is the word used to describe someone who writes without any planning. They write "by the seat of their pants."

Story structure was described by Aristotle in his "Poetics" in 335 BC. The Dramatic Structure he described is at the heart of many modern writing plans.

• Choose from a vast range of templates.
• Easy A-B-C steps to help plan story structure.
• Save, edit and export your plans.
• Try popular planning methods like the “Snowflake Method” and “The Hero's Journey”.
• Keep all your ideas saved in one place. Add to and develop them when inspiration strikes.
• Try Story Planner Novel Launcher to take you from idea to a book outline in 6 simple stages.

Plan a better story

Have a story in mind but don't know where to start? Story Planner Helper can point you in the right direction.

Here’s what Story Planner members say

Need more info?

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• For teachers

How to Make a Novel Outline

A novel outline is a plan for a novel. If you're outlining for yourself and not for an editor, then the good news is there's no right or wrong approach. You can type up your outline with Roman numerals, or you can paint it on the carpet in lipstick if that works for you. Every author has their own system.

Skip to topic Why outline a novel? A simple outlining technique Other tools for planning a novel Tips for your novel outline Using an outline Templates and worksheets

Why outline a novel?

One of the great things about a novel outline is that it lets you test ideas before you commit to them. It lets make sure your novel will work BEFORE you start writing.

Sometimes, you'll discover that your novel idea isn't going to work. For example:

• Your idea might not translate into enough scenes to fill a novel (though it might have potential for a short story).
• You might not have a strong enough story conflict, so the action ends up feeling flat.
• There might not be enough of a central thread tying things together. Your scenes feel like a series of episodes, not like a story.

If you discover one of these problems, you can either find a way to fix it, or move on to the next idea. Either way, figuring it out ahead of time can save you a lot of time and heartache.

Other benefits of a novel outline:

• It can make it less intimidating to start writing.
• You have a roadmap as you're writing your novel. You know what you have to write next.
• You can avoid writing yourself into a dead end. You can solve story problems before you've wasted a lot of time writing scenes that you would only change or cut later.
• You can set up your ending because you know what is coming. You can prepare the reader for scenes that are coming later in the book. For certain kinds of novels such as mysteries, some kind of outline or plan is almost necessary because there are many small details that have to fit together at the end.

There are authors who never outline at all. They just sit down and write. But then they usually rewrite the whole book again afterwards. Instead of planning their novels, they prefer to write a lot of drafts, discovering new aspects of the story each time.

This is a fine approach, but keep in mind that the less planning you put in ahead of time, the more rewriting you will likely need to do.

Outlining a novel in 5 steps

Here's an easy approach you can try. (Remember, there's no RIGHT way to make a novel outline—this is just one option!)

1. Brainstorm.

Before you start your actual novel outline, spend some time brainstorming freely, letting your imagination run, generating ideas and writing them down. Carry a notebook around with you.

2. Answer some questions...

When you feel that you're getting ready to move beyond the brainstorming phase, then write down answers to these questions:

• Who will be your main character? Write some information about them. (It's possible to have more than one main character, but this will make your novel more complicated to write. If you plan to have several main characters, write information about each one.)
• Normally, your novel will be about an important problem that your main character has to solve, or an important goal that they want to achieve. What is this problem or goal? Write it down. Why is it the most important thing in the world to your character right now? (If it isn't that important to your character, look for another problem or goal to give them. If your character doesn't care a lot about resolving their problem, your readers won't either.)
• What terrible difficulties are there between the character and their goal or the solution to their problem? (If it's too easy for your character to get out of trouble or get what they wants, then there will be less of a story). Make a list of difficulties.
• Where and when (in general) will your story take place? In Miami in the early 1980's? On the planet Fiz in the year 3000?
• In general, what genre or type of novel are you writing? Is it mainly comedy? Drama? A thriller? Read more about types of novels here.
• Write a summary in 1-2 sentences of your novel's main idea. You can imagine that you're writing the blurb for the book jacket. This summary should include a character or characters and an important problem or goal. If you find that you can't pin your novel down to just 1-2 sentences, then your idea probably isn't focused enough yet, and you should keep working on it.
• What are the main events that will move your character toward (or away from) solving the novel's central problem or achieving the central goal? Make a list.

3. Come up with scene ideas.

For each of the main events in the list you've just made, imagine a scene or scenes. Think about:

• What characters are in the scene?
• Who is the viewpoint character (the character through whose eyes the readers will see the scene)?
• Where does the scene happen?
• What happens?
• What does the scene accomplish in the novel? Does it move the character forward toward their objective or further away from it?

Every scene should have a purpose. It should either move the character forward or backward toward or away from their goal or solving the novel's central problem (novels are more exciting if you play with the reader’s emotions by moving the character back and forth a bit), or else it should deepen the reader's understanding of the characters or situation in the novel.

Make a list of scene ideas, summarizing each one in just a few words. For example:

• Maria argues with her parents about going to Dana's party.
• Aliens abduct everyone at Dana's party and take over her house.
• That night, Maria sneaks out of her bedroom and heads to the party.

4. Check if your plot's focused enough.

Write a one-sentence summary of novel's main plot idea. You can imagine that you're writing the blurb for the book jacket. This summary should include a character or characters and an important problem or goal. If you find that you can't boil down the plot to a single sentence, then your idea probably isn't focused enough yet, and you should keep working on it.

• Boy learns he is actually a wizard and is sent to a wizarding school, where he has to battle the most evil dark wizard of all time.
• Detective has to solve a series of brutal murders in a convent.
• Woman discovers that her husband has a second family and has to choose whether to leave him.

(Tip: Save this 1-sentence – can use be helpful later when it comes time to pitch your novel to agents and editors!)

5. Organize your scene ideas.

Look at the scene ideas you planned in Step 3. Are they in the right order? What other scenes are needed to tell the story of your character's battle with the problem or their work toward the goal? Fill in the missing pieces. Take out any scenes that don't belong.

Put everything into the best order for telling the story. This is your novel outline! Use it to help you, but don't hesitate to keep changing and improving it as you write. The story might take you in unexpected directions, so stay open to surprises!

Other tools for planning a novel

Index cards

You can write each scene idea on a separate index card. Then play around with the order, adding new cards and removing cards that don't belong.

Once you've got a sequence you're happy with, take a photo of the cards arranged in order, and/or number the cards to save your work. If you have enough space, you might like to pin the cards to a cork board or tape them to the wall for easy reference you're working.

Mind-mapping is a great brainstorming technique, especially at the early stages of planning a novel. Here's an example of a mind map.

There's no right or wrong way to make mind map. One approach is to write a word in the center of a page, then surround it by words and phrases that are related to it. Use lines to show how ideas are connected. You can use colors and pictures to add dimension to your visual map.

Charts and graphs

Some authors create timelines and charts of their plots, or specific plot elements. For example, here's a hand-drawn graph J.K. Rowling used for one of her novels. Character profiles

Many writers create profiles of the main characters they're going to write about. They take notes on a character's physical appearance and personal history, their good and bad qualities, likes and dislikes, habits, interests, hopes and fears.

Click here for a questionnaire you can use to make character profiles.

You can collect pictures to help you imagine the people and places you will be writing about. You can go through magazines and do a "casting" for your characters. You can create a scrapbook if you like. Or you can search for pictures online (for example, doing image searches on Flickr.com and Google), then use Pinterest.com to create a virtual scrapbook. You can also draw your own pictures. J.K. Rowling drew sketches of the characters in her Harry Potter novels. Many writers draw maps and floorplans of the places they'll be writing about.

Writer's journal

Many writers like to keep a notebook where they write down ideas, descriptive details, scraps of dialogue, etc., as they come to mind.

Novel-writing software

There are many software options with tools for outlining your novel and mapping different aspects of your story such as timelines, character relationships, subplots, etc. One advantage of using software is it makes it easy to keep all of your planning in one place and to search for what you need.

Tips for outlining a novel

• Know yourself, and figure out the method that works best for you.
• Don't waste time choosing the perfect words for your outline or color-coding your note cards in seventy-two colors. The outline is just for you. What the reader cares about is the novel, so put the loving attention there instead.
• HAVE FUN! Ultimately, outlining a novel is a process of experimentation. Sometimes it can feel like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. At other times, it's like a structured form of daydreaming.
• Don't become a prisoner of your outline. I know one author who spent a whole year trying to get from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7 of her book because the outline said a certain event was supposed to happen. And she couldn't find a way to make it work. In the end, she removed this event from her outline, and the problem was solved.

Using a novel outline

Not all novelists like to outline. It's not a requirement. But an outline gives you security.

You never have to wonder what to write. You don't have to worry about running out of ideas.

And once you have a solid outline, the writing will normally go faster and more easily.

When you sit down to write, you can take the next plot point on your outline and let your imagination run with it, daydreaming the scene, playing it in your mind like a movie. Then write down what you see and hear, what the characters say, what everything looks and sounds and smells like.

As you do that, new ideas will occur to you, ideas that weren't in your original outline. That's great! Explore them! You're not locked in to the outline. It's just there in case you need it.

That's important to remember: the outline is NOT a limitation. You can always add things that aren't in the outline (or ignore things that are).

Imagine a path through the wilderness. As you're crossing that wilderness, you might wander off the path wade in a stream or pick berries that are growing nearby. But as long as you keep the path in sight, you always know where you're headed.

Templates and worksheets

Click here to get the Novel Outline Summary Worksheet. Click here to get the Character Outline Worksheet. Click here to get the Scene Outline Worksheet.

How to Outline a Novel - Next Steps

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Novel planner

Unlock the secrets of crafting a compelling novel with our structured novel planner template—kickstart your storytelling journey.

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Bring your story to life

Crafting a compelling narrative requires not just creativity but also meticulous organization, That's where our novel plan template comes into play, offering a comprehensive framework that can transform a flicker of an idea into a fully-fledged story. Whether you're a seasoned writer or a novice with a story burning in your mind, this template serves as a critical tool for shaping your narrative journey. Indie authors have already successfully planned and written their books with our other comprehensive tools and templates .

The benefits of using a novel plan template

This novel plan template is a powerful resource for writers looking to streamline their creative process. It helps in laying out a clear roadmap for your story, ensuring that no crucial element - from character development to world-building - is neglected. You can also gain inspiration from our diverse range of community-created templates , each uniquely designed to inspire and assist in various aspects of writing and organizing.

For writers, a template brings method to the madness—the blank page is no longer a daunting abyss but a structured canvas ready for painting. It prompts writers to ask the right questions: Who are my characters? What is their purpose? Where does my story take place? How will the conflicts unfold? In doing so, it allows for a smoother creative flow, freeing for writers from the paralysis of unlimited choices.

A template also acts as a quality control check for the narrative. It ensures that every aspect of the story, from the smallest subplot to the most expansive piece of world-building, aligns with the larger vision. This alignment helps maintain coherence, making the story accessible and engaging for the reader.

Additionally, it's a time-saver. The template's predefined structure means you can avoid the pitfalls of plot holes and inconsistent character development, which might otherwise require significant time to fix later in the writing process. 

What this template includes

Our template is designed to guide you through every aspect of novel writing:

• Premise/logline: Establish the essence of your story. What's the unique angle that will captivate readers? Define your characters, the conflicts they face, and what sets your novel apart.
• Setting and world-building: Immerse your readers in a well-constructed world, detailing the environment, cultural norms, and special characteristics that make your setting unique.
• Character profiles: Develop a deep understanding of each character’s motivations, backgrounds, and personalities, ensuring they are memorable and integral to the narrative.
• Plot outline/synopsis: Plan the spine of your story from beginning to end, laying out a path that’s both thrilling and coherent, ensuring each twist and turn aligns seamlessly with the overarching narrative and drives the story forward purposefully.
• Themes and motifs: Explore the underlying messages and symbols that will give your novel depth and resonance, weaving a rich tapestry of ideas that underpin the narrative and add layers of meaning that will engage and provoke thought in your readers.
• Conflict and resolution: Identify the central struggle and its subsequent resolution, ensuring that the story’s core is compelling.
• Point of view: Decide on the lens through which the story will be told, which is vital in determining how readers connect with your characters
• Scenes & sequences : Break down your story into digestible segments, each with a clear purpose and direction, providing a roadmap for your narrative journey and ensuring that each scene contributes meaningfully to the story's progression.
• Research notes: Keep track of any background work that informs the believability and authenticity of your narrative, compiling details that enrich the world you’re creating and ensuring consistency across the tapestry of your story.
• Timeline: Outline the chronological path of your story, marking significant events that drive the narrative forward, which serves as the backbone for pacing and helps maintain narrative tension throughout your work.

The importance of novel plans

Novel plans are crucial for writers, as they offer a skeleton that holds the story together. They are particularly vital for writers working on complex narratives, those juggling multiple character arcs, or dealing with intricate world-building elements. By providing structure, novel plans allow the writer to innovate within a framework, focusing creatively on individual elements without losing sight of the larger picture.

Whether you're a new writer aiming to complete your first novel, or an experienced author embarking on your next bestseller, a novel plan is your ally. Educators teaching creative writing, writing groups seeking a shared format for critique, and professional writers pressed for time will all find this tool invaluable.

Embrace the clarity and focus that our novel plan template provides. Start your writing journey with confidence and watch as your narrative unfolds seamlessly from one chapter to the next. Try our template today and begin crafting your story with precision and passion.

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Posted on Jul 17, 2020

How to Plan a Novel: From Idea to First Draft in 7 Tips

About tom bromley.

Author, editor, tutor, and bestselling ghostwriter. Tom Bromley is the head of learning at Reedsy, where he has created their acclaimed course, 'How to Write a Novel.'

Jumping headfirst into writing your very first novel without any planning is possibly the biggest mistake an author can make. That said, a good plan doesn’t have to be a chapter-by-chapter outline or a massive document describing every character and setting.

Everyone has their own approach to crafting stories , so rather than giving you a specific guide on how to plan a novel, we’re going to share seven universal tips to help you form a solid foundation for your next writing endeavor. Let’s dive in!

If you're not writing fiction, you might want to check out our guide on how to outline a nonfiction book. 

1. Pick a planning method that works for you

Before we jump into the details of your story, let's discuss the planning approaches available to you. As mentioned before, there isn't a tried-and-true way to plan a novel — the process is specific to both the author and the story that's being told. Some authors type up bullet-point lists, some draw mind maps, some even sketch their characters. Here are just a few methods you may wish to try out.

Book development exercises 📖

Sometimes, all you need to do is ask the right questions, and amazing ideas will present themselves to you! If you’re wondering what those questions might be, check out the following template provided by Shaelin from our Youtube channel, and follow her video series on how to develop a book to see how she puts it to good use.

FREE RESOURCE

Get our Book Development Template

Use this template to go from a vague idea to a solid plan for a first draft.

We also have a post on writing exercises that might help you flesh out your plot and characters, if you need more inspiration!

The Snowflake Method ❄️

Picture a snowflake, starting at the center and then fanning out to all sides in an intricate design — that’s what your planning process would look like if you use this method. You begin with a simple one-sentence summary of your plot and then branch out to characters, setting, and other details from there.

And just as a snowflake is almost round in shape, the process for this kind of planning is also somewhat circular. You may start with character development, switch to worldbuilding, and then turn back to characters when you feel inspired to do so. Remember, growth in one area can create sparks for another — don’t feel like you have to plan in a particular order, just do what works for you!

The classic free-writing method ✍️

You can’t go wrong with free-writing — it lets you spill out all the thoughts you have about your story and can even help you make connections you’ve never noticed before. Our only advice to you if you intend to use this method is to organize your ideas under these headings: characters, setting, and plot. That way, you’ll be able to find and edit details easily, and you won’t become overwhelmed by your own notes.

2. Zero in on your protagonist

Now we get to the meat of the planning. Every single story follows at least one protagonist — so if you want a foolproof start to your plan, kick things off with your main character(s). But don’t just think about their names and what they’ll look like, as fun as that might be! Instead, to ensure that your novel is anchored in  believable human behavior , you should delve into your main character’s core by doing the following.

Choose a goal 🎯

A goal is not just something a character has to work toward. Rather, it embodies that character’s greatest desire: the thing that they care about the most. This ties directly into other parts of their profile, such as temperament and backstory, and informs all of their choices throughout the story.

Let’s take a look at a popular example: The Hunger Games . Katniss Everdeen’s goal to survive the deadly Hunger Games stems from her desire to provide for and protect her family (temperament), a role she’d taken on since her father died (backstory).

A character's goal is the driving force behind every action they take , contributing to their character arc and the book's overall narrative arc. By teaming up with her competitors to try and survive, Katniss learns of the extent of the suffering created by the government. Subsequently, her goal extends from merely surviving to leading her family and countrymen in their fight against tyranny.

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

Outline a belief system ☯

Having nailed down your character’s primary goal, temperament, and backstory, let’s dig a little deeper into their psyche — the parts of your character that may be less obvious on the page.  Your protagonist should be a round character with a complex belief system which may include details about:

• How they see themselves in contrast to others;
• What they believe to be their rights; and
• Whether or not they agree with the reigning values of their society.

Not only will this deepen your understanding of your character, but also your plot! Perhaps even more so than their immediate goal, a character’s belief system can give you some great ideas about which kinds of situations you can construct to increase the stakes throughout your book.

For instance, Katniss has always trusted in herself more than the systems that were established around her; she starts out believing that laying low and living a simple life is how she can keep her mother and sister safe. By creating situations where surviving also means defying the state, the book strengthens the former belief while also challenging the latter.

If you’d like to dig deeper into your characters, here are some resources you might find useful:

• Dynamic Characters vs. Static Characters available here
• 12 Types of Characters Featured In Almost All Stories available here
• 8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character available here

3. Create a challenge

If your character’s biggest goal is one side of the storytelling coin, then the central conflict is the other — you need to have both in a novel. Only when there’s something to impede the protagonist in their quest can there be the rising stakes that readers so desire and enjoy.

This obstacle (or series of obstacles) can be a physical antagonist, a status quo, a disruption in the protagonist’s environment, or all of the above. There are plenty of different kinds of conflict you can use, even in conjunction with one another! However, we suggest you choose a central, impactful conflict when you’re planning your novel. Everything that happens in the story should either add to or resolve this central conflict.

Consider an internal conflict

Not every story needs a strong internal conflict — for example, Sherlock Holmes is more concerned about solving mysteries than searching his soul. But for most genres, a personal struggle can make the character more multi-layered and believable, and the story more compelling as a result.

This internal plight may come from a challenge to the character’s belief system, or a memory from the past that they can’t shake. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice prominently features internal conflicts. Both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy let their pride and assumptions about one another's backgrounds stand in the way of their romance and, by extension, their happiness. Only by overcoming their prejudices and learning to see past each others' status could they begin to ease the tension and allow their romance to flourish.

Sometimes, internal and external conflicts play off each other and tie the character and narrative arcs together. In this way, sussing out an internal conflict may help you shape the central conflict itself.

4. Find a setting that suits the story

As you’d expect, the setting of a story varies wildly depending on your genre. Say you’re writing historical fiction about soldiers on the Western Front during World War II (think Atonement ) — the setting is part and parcel with the story concept. But even if your setting isn’t quite so intertwined with your novel’s plot, you should still put a good amount of thought into it.

Indeed, whether you’re building an elaborate mythical world or basing your narrative in a real location, it’s important to make sure that this environment helps you tell the story. Not quite sure how to do that? We’ve got a couple of suggestions for you.

Use the setting to enhance your conflict

If you’re choosing from several potential settings, ask yourself which one will most effectively heighten the central conflict. For instance, if your character is trying to find themselves, you might want to set the story in a big city full of exciting opportunities. A small, down-to-earth town may pop up as a stark contrast to that (for example, if your main character goes home for the holidays), but it probably won’t be ideal as your main setting.

One thing to note: though it doesn’t necessarily have to increase the conflict, your setting should never undermine the obstacles in the story. If you’re writing a horror that relies on the main character being utterly isolated, setting it in a theme park with free phone-charging points and maximum 4G signal might not be ideal.

Do some research (if needed)

🧭 For fantasy and sci-fi novels with complex invented social systems, you can look into both lore and existing scientific developments to strike a balance between what’s most interesting and what makes sense. This comprehensive guide to worldbuilding, complete with a thorough template, might be of assistance to you.

🌎 For settings based on actual locations, especially those that you haven’t spent much (or any) time exploring yourself, find out more about the general living conditions and common lifestyles there. You don’t have to visit the place to get to know it — use blogs, books, or even Google Street View to construct a convincing image of life in this setting.

5. Decide on an ending

If you’ve written any kind of story before, you’ll know that it’s usually easy to begin  one, but finishing it can feel like a Herculean feat. Sometimes you lose direction of where the story’s going, sometimes you stumble into a creative cul-de-sac — both are incredibly frustrating. The good news is, you can let the story's ending inspire what happens in the lead-up. In other words, you can reverse-engineer from the finale to create a solid outline for the entire plot!

Pro-tip: Reverse-engineering from the ending is especially useful when planning for a mystery .

By far, the most common, organic way to end a story is to simply resolve the central conflict , giving characters closure and providing readers with answers to all their questions. Star-crossed lovers should get together for the finale, detective stories should end with the solving of a mystery. This is the type of ending you should aim for unless you’re writing a series, in which cliffhangers and open endings may be appropriate .

Follow a character arc

If you’re really struggling to come up with a satisfying finale, let your protagonist’s arc lead the way. After all, the story is about them; if you know where they will end up, that should give you a rough indication of where your story ends. For instance, if your character struggles in a toxic relationship throughout the story, a logical ending might be for them to move out and start up a new, independent life.

Be careful with ambiguous and twist endings

Unclear endings and plot twists have their places in literature — when done correctly, they thrive in literary fiction and mystery novels, respectively. But they’re also challenging to pull off. Writing a twist is often walking the line between not being surprising enough and being overly dramatic to the point where it's unconvincing. As for ambiguities, most readers don’t enjoy being left on the edge — they want a solid, conclusive ending (think "happy ever after" in a romance novel, or the villain's defeat in fantasy stories). So unless you can build onto it well enough, it’s probably safer to avoid twists and open endings.

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6. Consider your novel’s style and structure

Now let’s take a break from the story-based aspects of planning a novel and look at some technicalities. When it comes to style and structure, you may feel inclined to just go with the flow and see what happens. But to help you maintain consistency and avoid tedious revisions, here are a few elements to think about as you plan a novel.

Point of view

Most writers choose between the first and the third person POV. First person gives readers direct access to the mind of the protagonist. Third person, while less intimate, gives you the chance to explore a wider range of events and perspectives in the story.

A middle ground between first and third person is a multiple-POV book, often used for stories with an ensemble cast of characters. Use this breakdown of the benefits of each viewpoint to gauge which one’s the best for your novel. (To be clear, we don’t recommend writing a whole book in second person unless you have an extremely good reason for doing so.)

Note that each POV also comes with its own voice . With first person, the narrator voice is the voice of the protagonist. Using third person POV, not only can you explore the voices of your characters, you can also set the tone for the story. Whether the story is eerie or humorous, whether it's cynical or light-hearted — third person viewpoint can play a big part in determining these.

Most stories will follow a linear timeline, although some might not. Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl , a domestic mystery about the disappearance of Amy Dunne, is a good example of a non-linear story. The chapters don't just switch between Amy's and her husband Nick's viewpoints — they also jump back and forth in time. Nick’s narration tells the story that’s happening now , while Amy’s narration, at least in the first section of the novel, gives the backstory of their marriage. This adds to the suspense, although it might be too complicated a structure for other genres.

Pro-tip: If you do want to follow multiple timelines, it’s best to map everything out onto one big chronology first, so as not to lose track when you write.

Present vs. past tense

Again, there is a trend here: past tense tends to be the go-to for most genres, especially science fiction and fantasy. But that’s not to say that you don’t have a choice.

Present tense gives a sense of intimacy and immediacy to your story, and makes it easy to stage flashbacks. If you want to focus on the “now,” you will likely lean toward using present tense. Just be absolutely sure before you start writing, because editing the tense of several chapters (or a whole manuscript) won’t be easy.

7. Know when to start writing

Some people prefer to have a detailed outline to guide their writing , while others want to discover the story as they write. The decision of when to stop planning and start writing relies entirely on how you work best as an author.

However, before moving on, you should make sure you have at least developed:

✅ A narrative arc with a beginning, midpoint , and end ✅ Character profiles for your main characters ✅ A clear setting

These elements will come up again and again as you write, so having a firm grasp on them should help you immensely, saving you from excessive rewriting down the line.

Pro-tip: When you think you’ve done all the planning you need, leave it for a week before you start writing. That week’s reserved for mulling things over and seeing if you want to change anything.

Once you’ve nailed all those elements down — in other words, once you’ve created a good foundation — you’re ready to start writing that novel!

Continue reading

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How to Plan a Short Story: Free Story Planner Template

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Short stories have a lot of work to do. They have to convey vivid details about setting and characters while advancing a cohesive plot in a limited amount of space. Using a story planner template is an effective way to ensure a positive short story writing experience for both new writers and established ones alike. 

The Benefits of a Story Planner Template

As a child, I was obsessed with writing. I carried notebooks everywhere I went and wrote short stories (and long ones!) in them whenever I could. 

The only problem was that my stories never really went anywhere. I mean, physically, they did. I traveled up and down the Pacific Northwest coast with my dad and my stories made some epic journeys.

But the plots always got stuck. I was really good at getting my characters into bad situations, but not so good at bringing them back out again.

Most of my stories just faded out somewhere in the middle. If they had an end, it was usually something like, “Suddenly, I woke up and realized it was all a dream.” Blech. It got to the point where I stopped writing for several years because I was afraid to tackle endings. 

That’s why, when my kids developed a passion for writing short stories, I worked on strategies to help them plan out their stories from the beginning. For every short story assignment or passion project they do, we sit down together and use a story planner template to develop a backbone for their work. 

The result is amazing: they are now adept at generating ideas, developing well-rounded characters, describing the setting, and planning out a plot with lots of twists and a satisfying resolution. I have to tell you, it’s quite hilarious when your child starts pointing out the emotional wounds of fictional characters and the universal life lessons that will help them overcome those wounds.

I write all my own stories this way too, from flash fiction to novels. I always need to know where they’re going. But whether you’re a go-with-the-flow kind of writer or a die-hard planner, there are things you need to know about your story before you start writing if you want to keep moving in the right direction.

In this post, we’ll look at how using a story planner template can lead to better short stories, and I’ll give you a free download you can use on your own or with students you teach. 

Why Writers Need a Story Planner

A story planner is an essential tool for helping writers organize their thoughts and ideas, create an outline for their story so they can avoid problems later on, and develop a visual roadmap for the writing journey that lays ahead of them.

It Helps Organize Thoughts and Ideas

When a new story idea strikes, a lot of information can come with it. This can be overwhelming if you don’t have a way to organize your racing thoughts. 

Conversely, a creative writing assignment might inspire no ideas whatsoever. You might stare at a blank page for an hour trying to come up with a single good idea.

Either way, a story plan helps establish a strong foundation for a good plot. For those with too many ideas, the story planner will help them narrow their ideas down and sort them into different buckets. It will also ensure they don’t lose any of their valuable story ideas. 

For those who are struggling, the probing questions found in a story planner can effectively elicit new thoughts.

Not every story starts with the same elements. Sometimes, a short story might be born of a “What if’ question . For example, “What if you found a secret passage in your house that led to a different period in time?” These stories start with a premise and expand from there. 

Another story might start with a character idea. For example, my daughter wrote a story about a girl who was raised as a dragon slayer only to find out she was actually a dragon halfling. An interesting character provides many opportunities to craft a strong short story premise. 

Because the short story planner is flexible in its use, writers of all ages can start wherever they feel comfortable. You may have an idea for a character, or you may have a really neat setting in mind. Either way, story planners are useful tools for bringing these creative ideas together. 

Creating an Outline Helps Avoid Problems Later On

Even the most experienced writers can get bogged down in the details of their stories. It can be hard to keep track of information that you wrote or planned out several pages or chapters ago. 

Also, sometimes when you write by the seat of your pants without a plan, you can write yourself into a corner from which you can’t retreat. When that happens, you may have to rewrite large sections of the story or even start over from scratch. 

A basic planner helps you avoid this problem because you work out the major problems in advance.

For example, I was recently writing a story in which the main character’s husband needed to go away for a long time. It wasn’t so much that he needed to go away, but that I needed the main character to be left on her own. 

My initial plan was to send him off to take care of a sick relative but I couldn’t make it completely believable that his wife wouldn’t have gone with him. As I wrote this version of events in my planner, I came to see that I needed a different excuse to send him away, one that would prohibit his wife from joining him. I was able to come up with a plausible alternative before I ever put pen to paper. 

Figuring this out in the planning stage saved me from spending hours writing scenes that just wouldn’t have worked in a final draft, and helped put me on a better path from page one.

It Provides a Visual Roadmap of the Story

Writing a story is a journey in the truest sense of the word, and like every journey, it really helps to have a map. Knowing where you’re going and the path you’re planning to take to get there frees you up from having to figure out such things on the fly and allows your creative brain to just run wild with wonderful writing ideas . 

You want to equip kids to avoid the nitty-gritty work of trying to map out the story as they go. Once they have more experience as writers, they might be able to do this more readily but at the beginning, you really want to help them come up with a plan so that they don’t get stuck and frustrated. 

What Short Story Elements Should Your Story Planner Cover?

A story planner should cover all the important details a writer needs to consider when planning out their story. The amount of detail included will vary depending on a number of factors—how much of a plotter the writer is, how long and/or complex the story is, and how detailed the narrative needs to be.

In general, these are some of the elements a good story planner might cover.

Plot Development in a Story Planner

At a minimum, the story planner template should have an overview of the main plot points: What is going to happen in the story? This would include things like:

• The exposition (or opening image) . How will we show what the character’s life is like at the beginning of the story?
• Catalyst (or inciting incident) . What major event happens to the protagonist that sets things in motion? 
• Rising action. How will we show the way tension and suspense build after the catalyst happens?
• Climax . What will the height of the action be? How will the protagonist solve the problem?
• Falling action . How will all the conflict that has arisen over the course of the story get resolved?
• Resolution (or closing image) . What does the protagonist’s life look like after the events of the story take place? How has he or she grown as a person?

Not every short story will have all these elements in the same way that a novel would. For example, many short stories don’t start with exposition but with the catalyst. Likewise, resolutions are often much less, well, resolute in short stories than they are in novels. Nonetheless, even if a short story is going to truncate the plot outline, it’s still important to think about where is the best place to start and finish and what’s going to happen in between.

Character Development in the Story Planner

The next thing a story planner should look at is character development, which, in many cases, will be the heart of the story. As you plan your own story, you might create character profiles or character sketches by thinking about questions such as:

• Who is this story about?
• What kind of person are they? Is the protagonist a girl? a boy? a man or woman? a rabbit or a horse? an alien? 
• How old are they?
• What kind of job do they have or are they in school?
• What do they look like and how do they dress? 
• What are their personality traits?

But more importantly, of course, are the things going on inside of them.

• What do they want?
• What do they need? 
• What are they afraid of?
• What are their secrets?
• Who are their friends?
• Who are their enemies? 

And of course, we want to know what is standing in the way of them getting what they want, and the story planner template will help develop all of these aspects of the character.

A helpful writing process used by many successful writers is to map out character arcs showing who the character is at the beginning of the story and how they evolve or change as the story progresses.

Setting in the Story Planner

Another thing to consider before writing is the setting of the story. Where does it take place? On a farm? City? Another planet? The bottom of the sea? 

When does it take place? Does it take place in current times? Sometime in the past? Does it take place in the future or in a parallel universe? All of these details are going to have a huge impact on what the story looks like. 

Think about the details of those settings. What specific locales are going to come up in the story and how will you describe them? What do they look like? What do they sound like? What do they smell like?

The time period will also affect the setting. If it takes place in the past, how did they dress? How did they act? What kinds of laws or rules were they subjected to that differ from what we experience today? 

Again, many of these details apply more to older children or students than they do to emerging writers, but it’s never too early to start discussing the basics of story elements. 

How to Use a Story Planner

When you use a story planner template, such as the one at the bottom of this post, you decide how much detail you want to include for each of your writing projects.

In Your Own Projects

Maybe you want to go through all of it, or you may use specific pages or steps in the process. Consider your focus: what are you trying to get out of this assignment? Which elements of the story planner will best support you in that goal?

As a Teacher

If you’re teaching the elements of story to your students, you can also use the story planner as a companion tool. So, for example, you might create a long-term writing project wherein the students complete each page of the story planner after you’ve taught a specific topic. 

While younger students—those in grades 3 to 5, say—will likely need a lot of support as they work through a story planner, middle school and high school students who have received instruction on the story elements will need less. You may want to go through the story planner once together as an example and then let them give it a go on their own and see what they come up with. 

However you decide to use it, on your own or in the classroom, a story planner template will bring together all the pieces of the story so you can focus on unleashing creativity and developing the best stories possible.  

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zoofeshan midhat

Sunday 21st of July 2024

You could say it began with a phone call," Grandma Eleanor often started her stories. At 86, she had a tale for every occasion, each woven with nostalgia and peppered with wisdom.

This particular story unfolded on a brisk autumn afternoon. Eleanor sat in her cozy armchair by the crackling fireplace, knitting a scarf for her granddaughter, Emma. The phone rang, breaking the tranquil silence of her quaint cottage.

She answered, expecting Emma's voice, but instead heard a frantic stranger on the line. It was Ben, a young man who had just moved into the cottage next door.

"Mrs. Eleanor, you have to come quickly! There's a fire in your backyard," Ben exclaimed, his voice laced with urgency.

Eleanor's heart skipped a beat. She dropped her knitting and rushed to the window. Sure enough, smoke billowed from behind the hedges, and the acrid scent of burning leaves wafted through the air.

"Stay right there, Ben. I'm coming," Eleanor replied, her mind racing with worry.

With the agility of someone half her age, Eleanor grabbed her coat and hurried out. Ben met her at the gate, and together they dashed towards the fire. They found Emma's old treehouse ablaze, flames dancing amidst the dry autumn leaves.

Ben took charge, grabbing a nearby hose while Eleanor called the fire department. Within minutes, they had the fire under control, but the treehouse was reduced to charred remnants.

"I don't understand. How did this happen?" Eleanor murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

Ben scratched his head, his face flushed with both exhaustion and concern. "I was cleaning up in my yard when I saw sparks from your chimney. The wind must've carried them to the treehouse."

Eleanor sighed, relief mingling with sorrow. The treehouse had been Emma's sanctuary during her childhood—a place of dreams and whispered secrets. Now, it lay in ruins.

As they waited for the firemen to ensure everything was safe, Ben sat with Eleanor on her porch steps. They talked about life, about loss, and about the unexpected turns that could start with something as simple as a phone call.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Eleanor. I didn't mean for this to happen," Ben apologized again, his eyes sincere.

Eleanor patted his hand gently. "It's not your fault, dear. Accidents happen. What matters is that no one was hurt."

They sat in companionable silence until the fire chief approached, offering reassurance and advice. By the time the sun set, the commotion had died down, leaving behind a quiet resolve in Eleanor's heart.

That night, as Eleanor sat by her repaired fireplace, sipping tea, she reflected on the day's events. It wasn't just about the treehouse; it was about Ben, about neighbors looking out for each other, and about the unexpected connections that life brought her way.

"You could say it began with a phone call," she thought to herself, smiling softly. Little did she know, this unexpected twist would weave a new thread in the tapestry of her memories—a story to share with Emma, and perhaps someday, with her great-grandchildren.

And so, the tale of the autumn afternoon, marked by a phone call and a fire, became another chapter in Grandma Eleanor's rich tapestry of life.

Friday 16th of August 2024

Thank you so much for sharing your story!

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Free fiction writer’s template to help you plan and structure your novel (24 chapter plotting outline for word, scrivener, G-Docs, plottr)

BRILLIANT! Positively BRILLIANT. Most comprehensive outline I’ve ever seen anywhere. Thank you Derek!

A few years ago I made the Plot Dot ( now free on Amazon ! ) – my simple 8-point novel writing template, with the major dramatic twists most stories need to hit. I always wanted a more in-depth book outline and plotting cheatsheet, but there’s so many conflicting story structures out there it was hard to sort out the specifics. Last year however, I managed to put together a 24 chapter template for commercial fiction .

It’s based on a lot of other things, but I’ve looked at other beatsheets or story planning guides and haven’t found one that actually tells you what to do at each stage in your story… So I hope you like it. I made an hour long video walking you through the steps, I’ll share that down below.

You can also download the Word Template; I managed to get it down to 2 pages (so you can print front and back if you want, and so that I can call it a “one page” plot outline).

PS. Scroll down to find the download links! I’m going to copy the whole thing down below. You can paste it into the word processor of your choice. PS. this is only the basic outline; my downloadable templates are much more refined and include some bonus writing tips.

It’s not pretty this way…. but I hope it’s useful!

Story Outline: 24 Chapter Writing Template

ACT I: ORDINARY WORLD (START WITH LACK)

Start the first chapter in the middle of the action; a big important day that the protagonist has been waiting for. Not characters sitting around and thinking about lore or history. Give them small, simple tasks to complete that show their world and the people in it. Don’t share information, share action, and be descriptive. A good protagonist is  busy and has  things to do.

But then, those small chores or tasks, or the preparation for this big event they’ve been waiting for, all goes terribly wrong. Whatever they were planning for, or counting on, that better future they’ve been dreaming of for years, it all falls apart. You need to make them  willing  to take risks by taking away all the other things they care about – because a great protagonist/hero is always unwilling at first.

1 Really Bad Day

Ordinary world, empathy, conflict. Show flaw and lack. Want, Problem, Need.

2 Something Peculiar

Something unique or strange happens, but they dismiss it.

3 Grasping at Straws

Trying to regain control of ordinary world but setbacks mount.

• INCITING INCIDENT (call to adventure)  

In these first three chapters, they are taking increasingly risky actions to try to stay on their main path, despite setbacks. They haven’t given up yet, but they are anxious and nervous to fix their mistakes and seize what they wanted, despite being denied.

There will also be something new, something different, that changes things, but they are trying to ignore it for now. Show the weirdness, show the mystery. Have them wonder about it, but only a little, because they have other more important things.

People won’t sit around and think about weird things until later, when things calm down, and you shouldn’t let things calm down! The protagonist will focus on the biggest, largest problem related to their current goals, wants and needs.

There’s still no place for detailed backstory or infodumps. Stick to the simple present: they will ask questions or explore or study  when they need to . Right now, they already know everything about this world, and so do the other people around them. Nobody should be accidentally oversharing world-building stuff (unless it’s tied into a world event).

Character conflict, if any, should be hidden or avoided (tension, not violence).

4 Call to Adventure

Something extraordinarily different happens, they can’t ignore. Major setback.

5 Head in Sand

The new interrupts the old and causes conflict. Reveals dissatisfaction with ordinary.

6 Pull out Rug

Trying to fix ordinary world problems while resisting the lure of the supernatural world.

ACT II: 1 ST PLOT POINT (point of no return)

In these next three chapters, something much bigger happens that they can’t ignore. It changes how they think about things, the way the world works. It’s new and unexpected; it hints of  differences  and  opportunity , or maybe some danger. It could be a “literal” invitation, like in Harry Potter.

The trick is, they don’t want it. They avoid, and refuse, and try to fix things, or brood about what they’ve already lost. They look for other, easier solutions (smart protagonist will always take the path of least resistance). But then you force them, kicking and screaming if you must, onto the new path that they absolutely don’t want.

In fantasy, this could be returning home to find their village burned and family killed.

In romance, this could be forcing your protagonist into a tight space (forced proximity) with their hot enemy; like finding out the cute asshole is their new boss.

*hint: add drama and suspense with prohibitions. Make whatever they need to do, against the rules.

writing template plot outline: inciting incident call to adventure

7 Enemies & Allies

Explore new world; meet characters, find their place and and role. Introduce all main characters.

8 Games & Trials

Struggle to belong. Frustration and doubt. Trials and challenges. Promise of premise.

9 Earning Respect

Small victory as lead proves capable. Fun and games. Begrudging acceptance.

• 1 ST PINCH POINT (first battle)

In these three chapters, the protagonist needs to learn the ropes. It might be a new job, a supernatural world, a new and interesting case. They will get to new some of the new, mysterious characters who might have shown up earlier. They will be forced to learn things, and there will be new friends, foes, allies and mentors – but also, challenges, tasks and trials to keep things interesting.

This is where you can do more world-building (but not backstory yet! More on that later). They feel like they don’t belong. They don’t want to be here. They hate everybody. But… somehow they find something they are good at, that they enjoy, and the people around them begin to show signs of warming up to them, which makes them start to care about this new world/environment/team of people.

But then you hit the 1st pinch point, which is a confrontation with the forces of the protagonist. Probably not the main protagonist directly, just something that shows opposition, danger, threat, risk. Something more serious. Conflict is out there. It doesn’t have to be a fight or battle; maybe a fight or argument.

10 Forces of Evil

Stakes are raised, antagonists revealed.

11 Problem Revealed

Surprise problem or situation. Demanding answers.

12 Discovery & Ultimatum

New information, vulnerable share. In or out?

• MIDPOINT (victim to warrior)

Now that the protagonist is starting to feel at home, the first pinch point reveals the conflict. Now they can start asking real questions, and getting real answers, about the backstory, history, world-building, and everything else. But don’t make the answers easy. Every year answer should start as a mystery and a question; and it should be fought for, sought out or difficult to obtain. You need to  resist giving information or easy answers. Questions should be ignored, refused, denied, and they need to push for answers  because the questions really matter now – not idle curiosity, but self-preservation.

But when they finally get the answers they seek, it’s a shock: it’s more than they bargained for. The history, the antagonist, their personal role, their family secrets or truth about their parents or their core identity; something they did not expect that is deeply personal.

Then we get to the mirror stage, where they take a step back to reflect on everything. They need to figure out if they actually want to be here, if there’s a way out, if they can put themselves back together. Don’t give them all the answers though: every single Big Answer or reveal should be an  event: it happens at the end of the scene, then close the curtain, before they have time to respond. Don’t dump a bunch of reveals on a page and have the characters just role with it. A shocking revelation should be like a slap – sharp and sudden, followed by silence.

13 Mirror Stage

Self-realization or a discovery. Victim to Warrior.

14 Plan of Attack

Plan of action to thwart antagonist’s forces or overcome main problem.

15 Crucial Role

Trusted with an important task.

• 2 ND PINCH POINT (second battle)

After the mirror stage, the protagonist decides basically, they’re sick of being pushed around, ignored, underestimated. They care about this new world or the players. They decide they  want to belong. They want to succeed or prosper in this new, unexpected and unwanted, opportunity. Instead of being reactive, they decide to stay and try harder. Even if it’s painful and challenging. Because they’ve found something they want, something worth it.

They regroup and form a plan with their allies. A plan to get rid of the threat, the competition; a plan to win and thrive. Smart protagonists don’t rush into battle, and the odds should be overwhelmingly against them (this is a REAL threat, that will take all of them together). So they don’t plan for violence. They plan something else, something subtle, a way to do good, save someone else, stop the antagonist, but they aren’t really planning on full-on fighting.

But… somehow the plan goes wrong and they are interrupted or surprised by the antagonists forces, which are even greater, more powerful, and more aware than they realized. This time ( this is important! )  because the protagonist was here voluntarily, and because they were trusted with an important task, this feels like a personal failure or setback. People they care about were counting on them, and they let everyone down. Maybe someone got hurt (or even died!).

Character deaths won’t feel dramatic at the beginning; they need to happen after we’ve seen these characters interact and gotten to know them. The protagonist took a big risk and failed; now they have to deal with guilt in a way they’ve never had to before.

The “first battle” is a skirmish, and it’s impersonal and distant. The “second battle” is immediate, and personal. Both the antagonist and protagonist have more awareness of each other.

16 Second Battle

They execute the plan, and come in direct conflict with antagonist’s forces.

17 Surprise Failure

The plan goes horribly wrong, faulty information or assumption. Consequences.

18 Shocking Revelation

The antagonist’s full plan/true identity is revealed. Stakes are raised. Guilt and anger.

ACT III: 2 ND PLOT POINT (dark night of soul)

At the end of this sequence, we get a big reveal. It’s also important to point out, my version is very different from the typical hero’s journey or other writing templates or outlines, because there are more battles and layers between them.

The first battle they  lose.

Probably because of a lack of information. So not only did something go horribly wrong, and not only do they have the guilt or shame, but they are also overwhelmed by the stakes, and feel unqualified – because there is information they don’t know yet.

It goes like this: – plan – fail – twist

The *new information* is a shocking reveal, that comes with difficulty. Something they didn’t know, some secret, that they only discover after the failure. Maybe by a taunting antagonist, maybe be a peer or mentor who was keeping secrets.

They are angry, upset, guilty, all the emotions at once. This battle or fight is much bigger, and much more personal, than they anticipated. Previously, they thought maybe they could win. Here, there is  no way out. There is no possible resolution where they can keep what they want, keep being who they are, live happily ever after. Something huge must be sacrificed, this battle or conflict will cost everything – it will cost, specifically, the one thing they can’t bear to lose.

I wrote a breakdown of several big movies and TV shows, focusing on this part, it’s worth reading here for examples. (You could also see EACH 3-chapter segment like this: event, reaction, new goal. Or event, response, reveal.

19 Giving Up

Lead loses confidence; the forces are too great. What they want is unattainable.

20 Pep Talk

Encouragement from ally. Vulnerable share, inclusion. What’s at stake; choice.

21 Seizing the Sword

Deliberate choice to continue, even if slim chance of success.

• FINAL BATTLE (triumph-knowledge)

After the big twist, we have the dark night of the soul, where the protagonist basically gives up. An ally helps out, possibly by sharing new information, or just telling them why this matters or why they’re special. They see more of the world worth saving; they decide to try again even if it will cost everything, destroy them, even if they can’t survive this conflict and also keep what they want. They need to decide to give up what they wanted for the greater good; or risk EVERYTHING on the slim chance of success.

For romance it would go like this: avoidance of new feelings, realization of their feelings (mirror stage), rush to confess their feelings but misunderstanding – seeing him with another woman for example. Dark night of the soul, feeling alone and betrayed. But then going to confess their love again, dramatically, publicly, even when they think there is no hope, when they think their love has found someone else or is getting married or leaving.

They need to go into battle (face their demons, do the thing they are afraid of) even if they think they might lose; they should have no real plan for victory – or rather – they do have a plan, but the plan must go wrong or fail. That’s critical, or the ending would be flat and boring.

Things have to get much worse until victory really seems impossible.

Also, this fight is personal, between the protagonist and antagonist. It can’t ever be easy, which is why in any movie or TV show, the final battle comes down to fists. All those big magic powerful weapons or abilities are useless. They lose their vehicles, their guns, their knives, and resort to a wrestling match, face to face, straining muscle against straining muscle (or it would all be over too easily and without cost).It’s silly, but it needs to happen this way to extend the final battle scene and make it more gripping and immediate.

22 Ultimate Defeat

Triumph of Villain. All hope is lost. Confront fatal flaw.

23 Unexpected Victory

Secret weapon or ability, deep resolve, new understanding, unlikely ally. Remove glass shard. Sacrifice.

24 Bittersweet Reflection

Temporary victory. Innocents saved. How far they’ve come.

• REBIRTH (return to ordinary word)

Final battle scenes are tricky, but they shouldn’t be easy. There are stages. Here’s a post about writing final battle scenes , with two detailed videos.

In short, they LOSE at first, or almost lose. The hero is captured. They’ve lost, it’s over. The antagonist gloats. This is still due to lack of information or self-awareness, or because the hero has one vulnerability that’s been exploited, or it was all a trap.

There’s a huge tension – and an inner and outer conflict – where all the allies are fighting and losing, but waiting for the protagonist to complete their task. Everyone is counting on them. There’s a lengthened, physical resistance, peak conflict, figuratively or literal, a gritting of teeth and straining and pressure.

Often they need to “break a rule” or do the one thing they’ve sworn they would never do, something reckless and dangerous, but they win *because* the hero has nothing left to lose and is willing to risk everything. In the middle of this tension, this long, heavy pause, there might be a “flashback” scene where the protagonist sees all his allies, suffering, or reflects back on all the good times in the world worth saving; what this means to him/her. It could be an accidental boon or reward from an ally (received because of previous good behavior, kindness, friendship, something deserved).

Backstory character reveal!  A hero often has a tragic backstory, related to why this challenge is specifically impossible  for them and can’t be defeated without personal, internal healing and change; facing their demons. The best time for a full character flashback reveal is in the middle of the final battle scene or close to it. Previously it can be hinted at, in flashes, but never fully fleshed out. We learn the truth here to show JUST how impossible and difficult this thing is, for them, and why it will mean a complete break/healing from all the ways they’ve avoided their problems or memories before.

If you have a large cast ensemble, each character’s backstory is given near their own personal moment of truth/challenge (each one must do the thing that is difficult for them, in a way it may not be difficult for others. Whatever their limitations or disabilities, their challenge should match – and they should do it anyway).

For romance: they’ve confessed their feelings and there is silence. The love-interest might even say something mean or cutting… after a long, long pause, where it seems like a rejection, they clarify and turn it into something nice.

For action: the protagonist or close ally/love interest might have sacrificed themselves. There’s a long tense pause as everyone thinks they are gone. Bittersweet, sad victory. Hold out that tension for as long as possible… build the pressure. This is the point of the book! This moment!

Then relieve the pressure. It snaps. They win. Victory, celebration. All the people watching in public horror and sadness, suddenly cheer and laugh and smile. Catharsis.

25 Death of Self

From ambition to service. Death of former self. Acknowledgment ceremony.

Optional: Hints of future challenges or antagonist lives.

The ending or resolution, is usually some kind of reunion or coming home party or event. It could be a wedding or gathering. Everyone who survived is given some peace and a happy ending of sorts. Everyone congratulates the hero (and here you can finally have those wrapping up conversations where somebody fills in any details or plot points about how everything went down – that would have been boring or overkill to include earlier, and ruined the suspense and surprise).

Dramatic story turning points

One of the most interesting and unique parts of the writing template are the red lines for the “A” story and the “B” story – that deal with the types of conflict and drama your protagonist might be facing at each major turning point.

These are the 8 points in the Plot Dot so get familiar with them first, they are the spokes that hold everything together.

Every scene needs drama and conflict – there’s a scene checklist below – but the story will deepen and evolve depending on which external or internal threats and conflicts are the most pressing at any given time.

1-Page Novel Plotting Outline Template

The sound is a little off on this one I think… I have another version on YouTube .

“When I put my story ideas into other outlines they seem to leave me still feeling lost, and confused with what should happen in certain chapters. But this one? I was able to connect the dots from beginning to the complete end. I had to study it for a week straight before I finally was able to really understand how to use this story structure completely.”

Word count & chapter lengths

I tend to write chapters with two scenes and one chapter break in between them. A scene is one continuous moment of action, like you’d see in a tv show or movie; a break is when the screen goes black (or the curtain falls) and then they setup again for the next scene, which starts a new action sequence in a different place or time.

This outline is for 24 chapters, and I try to make my scenes about 1000 words. So that’s nearly 50,000 words, which is a decent length for a first rough draft. Don’t overwrite it, get things in the right place first. Once I start editing – which is a 3 step process – I’ll add another 25K in detail (descriptions, dialogue, transitions, other stuff). So my cleaner drafts are around 75k, which is a good length for most commercial fiction. I tend to write long, so a lot of my books, telling a *full* story, are closer to 90K.

But sometimes I actually just *end* the story closer to a cliffhanger, somewhere in the middle, without all the resolution. (Telling the first half of a story is a skill to learn; telling the second half is a separate skill. Don’t try to learn everything all at once).

Download this story writing template!

• MS Word novel outlining template
• Download the printable PDF
• Google Docs outlining template
• Novel writing template for Scrivener
• Novel writing template for Open Office
• Plottr templates (NEW!)

If you need help with the whole writing process, here’s a huge post:

• 34 steps to writing a book

Best book writing software

Personally I still use microsoft word, but if you’re looking for something a little more powerful, there are some good alternatives. There’s also some new AI software which can be great for brainstorming story ideas, doing research (name generation, even suggesting plot outlines – and then for editing and revising. Writing is hard enough already; use any tool that helps in any way, even if it just relieves the burden on your brainpower, which is an exhaustive resource that you need to protect.

• best writing software & apps
• best AI writing tools

If you want to play with something new and fun:

• promptoria (writing prompts generator)
• ghostthewriter (summon a spirit to do your bidding)

Drama: story reveals & plot twists

One of the biggest mistakes new writers make is having backstory infodumps at the beginning. Conflict and suspense are caused by the lack of information, which means you need to be raising questions without giving answers.

I made a handy chart for when to reveal crucial information; it’s a response to the questions the characters are seeking. Basically, never give info for free – it has to be asked for first (noticed the lack) and resisted (difficult to find) before the reveal will be meaningful.

You keep what’s important private and hidden until it is forced out of you. I made a clever little graphic for  when  you should be revealing what type of information, depending on what type of questions your protagonist is asking.

In the beginning, they’ll be asking

• “ What is going on?” then,
• “ Who is doing this” or “Who am I?” and finally
• “ Why is all this happening” or
• “why am I willing to sacrifice everything for this…”– you don’t get to the big reveals or why’s or critical, full backstory flashback until very late in the book, often in the middle of the final battle scene (that’s a whole thing on its own but I have a video about that too).

Fiction scene checklist & common writing mistakes

Plotting is important, but even when you have the right stuff in the right place, it doesn’t mean your story will be any good. The fastest and easiest way to resolve that is to use this scene checklist , which includes the 3 types of conflict you should include.

And then check these out:

• 25 Self-Editing Tips for Indie Authors (and 8 amateur writing mistakes)
• The 6 signs of weak writing   (how to tell if your book sucks)

You might not need them until later during edits and revisions – get the first draft out before you polish. But, well, it’s much easier to avoid common signs of weak and amateur writing than it is to fix it or replace it later.

NEW: as part of my Bestseller Blueprint course I made a new video tutorial walking through the 24-chapter novel outline above. I’ve also been adding new videos to my YouTube channel (up to 3 million views!) so you can watch at your leisure. This is advanced writing craft: click the image below, then subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss updates.

“I’ve been listening to this non-stop. Dude has done his research on story structure.”

“I’m an author and have been studying story structure, narrative arc, and plot points for years….this is a REALLY good template. I can tell you’ve digested and synthesized more vague outlines and converted them into a more comprehensive map of the types of scenes that must happen in between the typical plot points.”

“Thank you so much for creating this story outline. I have been looking for a plot structure like this for a long time! It helped me to complete a a story blueprint that I’m so happy with. You don’t understand what this means to me.”

“Man this right here helped me a ton. It cut out most of all the nonsense that the other outlines be giving.”

Do I need a writer’s template?

If you’re new to book writing, you may feel overwhelmed with everything. Creativity is a fickle beast, and all great writers have struggled with procrastination and productivity. There are basically two types of writers: plotters and pantsers.

These correlate directly to the two types of creativity: intuitive and logical. Pantsing (writing from the seat of your pants) is more magical. It feels amazing to have ideas just come up from nowhere, as your brain fills in gaps or generates scenes and characters. Sometimes you can just write it all down and it works.

A lot of famous, experienced authors are pantsers to some degree. But for most new writers, pantsing will end up will end up with a big, messy manuscript full of stuff but not really a  book . All commercial fiction, even literary or speculative, has rules. There’s a way to construct a book so that it works, and it’s entertaining enough to keep readers turning pages.

Many authors find plot outlines or plotting structures to be restrictive: it’s very hard to unleash that special kind of magic when you’re trying to stick to your plot points. It’s also less fun. For this reason, some authors stick to pantsing until they fail long enough to seek alternatives. If you’ve been struggling with a book idea for months or years, without really figuring out how to fix it all, you might need structure.

Or, maybe you’re a plotter (like me!). I found that I can be a lot more productive when I know where I’m going. You can either start with my simple 9 point Plot Dot to hit the main big points, that generate momentum and energy for your story like an engine. Or you can use the 24 chapter plot outline template to fill in the weak, saggy middle.

Here’s where it gets weird:  Even though I’m a plotter, I recognize that my best, most effortless writing comes in the flow of the scene. I need to step away from my outline (my big word manuscript document) and do writing sprints on my iphone with minimal distractions, to get in the scene and picture things happening. Even if I know  what needs to happen, I haven’t sorted out the details. Things flow and evolve in surprising ways, and scenes unfold the way they need to. This isn’t all in your control. You need to allow yourself space and freedom to be creative, even with a plan.

This is right brain/left brain stuff, and we all will have our strengths and preferences. It’s a tricky thing to balance. This is also, the drafting brain and the editing brain. There’s a time to be creative and pump out words; and there’s a time to fix, polish and make them better. You can’t do both at the same time. Writing books is a continuous juggling act between both brains.

I wrote a whole post about the creative war between writers and editors , and as an author, this means you’re basically at war with yourself. It isn’t easy, and it takes time. But it’s  so much easier to skip the years of flustering around, and have the structure and system to get the work done. You need to write a first draft, and for me at least, all the really good writing comes very late in the editing stages. After I have a draft and I know how the story works, then I can make it good, but not before.

So this writer’s template can save you a lot of time and angst, but only if you use it.

Isn’t this hero’s journey stuff just for fantasy?

This plotting template works for all kinds of genres. I don’t have an example handy but I put a bunch in my book. Just keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be literal. All stories worth telling are about an impossible journey – something too difficult for the protagonist to currently handle. They are forced to change or grow; this story is worth telling, it’s remarkable,  because  it forces the protagonist to have an identity crisis and rethink who they are, what they want, and what they believe in. It tests them more than anything else ever has. The entire story is the build up to that moment of change or final conflict, which triggers the transformation. I have resources about how to handle that key scene, the final battle (figurative or literal). But it can work just as well for children’s books, or romance novels, or even literary masterpieces.

Stories have structure, there’s a way to tell a story for maximum dramatic effect. You can add this structure in later, after you have a draft, to make it more powerful, but I prefer to start with an outline and fill in the gaps as I go.

There will also be scenes that resist: often the scenes in between where nothing is really happening, feel slow and boring, without purpose. But these often become my  most powerful scenes, because those are the spaces where characters can bond and you show the world worth saving. They are the sweet and touching scenes that play a huge role later, at the decisive, critical moment, when the hero or heroine decides whether this battle is worth fighting, whether they care enough to continue. The bigger the danger or obstable, the more motivation you need for your protagonist to act anyway, even though it may destroy them – to take a risk bigger than they are comfortable with, to leave it all on the line. The stakes must be dire (and the challenge must not be easy); and the story needs to slowly justify their stubborn, absolute commitment to something greater than themselves (love, peace, fulfillment, identity, whatever).

Advanced creative writing tips

This writing template is a good start but it isn’t everything; you also need to create suspense and conflict in your book to keep readers turning pages. I wrote a book with advance writing tips, sharing everything I know about writing books that sell (I’ve sold about 50,000 so far).

But it’s a bit tedious and heavy. If you’re ready to dig deeper and enjoy a historical, magically-based theme to help develop your writing, check out BookCraft.

I also made a big list of the best books on writing for authors . These helped me a ton.

If you want something cleaner and faster, I also put together a video course called “the Bestseller Blueprint.” It’s on sale for just $37 (usually $197). And I’m giving away two bonus courses, with some more advanced tips for writing fiction and nonfiction books.

If you’re looking for more direct feedback and a deep developmental critique of your writing, there are a few more spots left to work one-on-one with me. Happy writing!

PS. Looking for nonfiction book outline templates ? (click here )

The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour.

Totally free. Get it here.

I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.

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12 Comments

Hi Derek, thank you so much for this video on your plot structure. I have found it really useful. Just a question…do you give examples anywhere to back up the points? I know there are some (like the Starwars and Harry Potter references) and these are super useful as they really explain the point. So is there an example, say, for when the protaganist is given a magic object? or someone is told what their blind spot is. Specific examples are so clear. I just wondered if there was somewhere you’ve covered this and I can’t find it. Thank you so much for all your resources.

I haven’t really yet – I agree they’d be useful. I’m thinking about writing my own for each genre but that may be excessive.

I’m not sure about the legalities and don’t want to misinterpret major stuff, especially when movies and breakout (superfamous) fiction usually (don’t) follow my outlines. It’s confusing, but the templates work for the vast majority of popular stuff, but probably not the best, well-known stuff. I’ll probably get to it, but then I’d have to rewatch all the classics and I get bored too easily. I could easily do it with anything new on netflix… their scripts are pretty great.

Just a heads-up Derek… In your Amazon book description for the Plot Dot, you wrote “panster” instead of “pantser.”

thanks! I’m going to redo it soon and I’ll update it.

I downloaded your Novel writing template for Open Office twice. Both times, the “24-chapter outline” consisted EXCLUSIVELY of a one-page “about the author.” Something get lost?

Oh that’s weird! I’ll check it. The whole thing is on my website, so you could copy/paste in into open office. I thought I formatted it all but I’ll fix it.

I absolutely love this- in your video you said that you would eventually like to put examples scenes or more detail against the 24 chapters- did you ever get around to doing this- or is there more information in one of your books I can purchase? I just got “Book Craft” on Kindle Unlimited but there are no additional notes in Chapter 4 that I can see. I’d just love to know in depth a bit more what each of the chapter headings means or requires.

How could you adapt this for a short story? Love this template so much!

Just wanted to comment and let you know that this helped me plot my first story from the beginning to end. I’ve been struggling with my ADHD and overwhelming anxiety about not doing it correctly. The details put in this were easy to understand and when I get published, I am going to thank you.

awesome! having adhd is probably why I needed a clear plan. I need small chunks where I understand what needs to be done.

Thanks for providing all this. The information, templates, help… everything… has been amazing so far!

Great article, I really enjoyed reading it! All the tips and tricks are very helpful!

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Writing templates

Unleash your literary potential with notion's writing templates. dive into creative realms with character sheets, plot outlines, and writing prompts. ideal for novelists, screenwriters, and poets, these tools are designed to spark inspiration and organize your storytelling journey..

Creative writing space

Writing a Book

Novel Planning Resource

Samantha Hernandez

Writer's Novel Character Profile

Writing Novel Tracker

Annisa Herina

Character Sheet Template

Everyday Life

Marjan Arbab

Writer Studio

AI Poem Generator

Atlas - Original Character Database

Writing Template

Shifting scripts

Character Sheet

Comet Celeste

The Writer’s Workspace

Writing Tracker focus Thesis

D&D Dungeon Master Notes

Writing Project

Plot structuring and outlining for Writers

aprilliated

Wanna Write A Book?

Hank Quense

Mood Journal + Tracker

Writing Assignment Word Count Tracker

Simplicity Designs

Screenplay Starter

Maria Nirmal

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Top 10 free content creation templates.

What is a Notion template?

A Notion template is any publicly shared page in Notion that can be duplicated. They allow you to share your favorite workflows with the community, or duplicate other workflows that you want to use.

How do I use a template?

Once you identify the template(s) you’d like to use, click the Start with this template or Get Template button. If you’re already signed into Notion, the template will automatically be added to your workspace in the Private section of your sidebar. If you’re logged out or don’t have a Notion account, you’ll be prompted to sign in or create an account first.

How do I make a Notion template?

You can make any Notion page a template by clicking Share in the top right, select the Publish tab, and click the Publish to web button. Make sure the Allow duplicate as template is toggled on. To share, use the public-facing URL or click the Copy web link button in the Publish tab.

How do I submit my template to the Notion Template Gallery?

To submit a template to the gallery, go to notion.so/templates and click the Submit a template button in the upper right corner or visit notion.so/submit-a-template . Fill out the form (including your public template link, template name, template descriptions, and template category) to share your template with the Notion community!

How can I customize the template?

Once you’ve added a template into your workspace, you have endless options for what you can change, edit, or update to fit your needs. Templates are just a starting point to help you create your ideal workspace.

Here are a few common updates and changes that you can make once duplicating a template:

Pages — Update the page cover photo, add/change an icon, and change the page title.

Text — Add formatting, like bold, italics, text color, and background color. Change heading levels, add bullet or numbered lists, and move sections around.

Blocks — Add blocks like callouts, toggle lists, or tables. Remove blocks that you don’t need to reduce clutter or make space for extra blocks.

Databases — Change property names, types, and icons, or add/remove properties that don’t fit your needs. Add new database views, like boards, lists, calendars, timelines, or galleries.

A plot outline is like your story’s skeleton. It’s the bones on which you hang the flesh, blood, sweat and tears of your story.

It sketches out the underlying  structure  of your novel: its key stages, including critical developments and pivotal moments.

It doesn’t list all of the chapters, or everything that happens in them. Its sticks to the heart of the story – which is usually the personal journey of the protagonist, from who they are at the beginning to who they are at the end.

For some people an outline may simply be a few ideas floating around their head , for others it may be a 50,000 word document.

For our purposes, we’ll assume a plot outline is a written document of a few pages, covering key stages and turning points.

The most basic plot structures

The simplest plot outline could be based on the  three act structure :

For example:

• Beginning – Harry is a bullied orphan living with his aunt and uncle, who mistreat him
• Middle – He joins a magical school and learns of great friends, enemies and challenges
• End – He manages to stop an evil wizard from stealing an important artefact, and returns home confident and able to stand up for himself

But that’s simplistic to the point of being of limited use. So you may want to expand it into something like this:

• Rising Action
• Falling action
• Final Outcome

For many people, this is enough of a structure on which to hang the main points of their story. Using these stages will help ensure the story feels satisfying to a reader.

Imagine how a reader might feel if you wrote a story with the stages in this order:

• Final outcome
• Falling Action

It hurts just to look at it. Imagine what it would be like to read.

Applying this distortion to the simplest of plot outline makes it clear why getting the stages out of order can be confusing, unsettling and even nonsensical.

This is an important lesson, because while the diagram above is almost laughable, it might not be so obvious when stages are out of order when using a more advanced structure. However, there’s a high chance that readers will still feel less engaged and emotionally involved.

The most popular and widely used plot structure is probably the Hero’s Journey, which goes something like this:

• Ordinary World
• Call to adventure

Refusal of the Call

• Meeting the Mentor

Crossing the Threshold

• Tests, allies, enemies
• Approach the innermost cave
• Resurrection
• Return with Elixir

In this diagram, the higher the line, the higher the tension and stakes. The dip towards the end additionally represents a loss of hope.

Traditional diagrams depict the Hero’s Journey as a circle, but I find that doesn’t sit right with me, as it means the end point appears to be exactly the same as the start point.

For me the linear diagram better represents the concept the the hero returns ‘home’ (back to the baseline), but they are further forward than they were at the start.

Here’s a  very  brief explanation for each of these stages:

You can read about the stages of the Hero’s Journey in more detail  here .

Before we go any further, let’s address some questions that writers sometimes raise with regards to the Hero’s Journey and other plot outlines.

It’s important to realise that each of these stages can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways, leading to an infinite variety of stories.

At first, it’s easy to be misled (especially by the wording) that this template will force your story into a particular style.

For example, at the most fundamental level, the word ‘Hero’ may give the impression you have to present a sword wielding, brawny young man who longs for adventure - but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The ‘Hero’ just means the protagonist, and they don’t have to display any traditionally ‘heroic’ qualities at all. We are all the protagonist of our own experience, however flawed and morally questionable.

Similarly, the Call to Adventure doesn’t have to have anything to do with sirens, evil Kings or swordfights. It can be anything that unsettles and ordinary life.

So, while the hero  could  be a young man longing for exciting quests, and his call to adventure  could  be an old wizard telling him of a dragon who’s kidnapped a princess, it could equally be:

• A high school airhead who’s just been dumped and decides to go to law school to try to win her boyfriend back.
• A little girl who follows a rabbit down and hole, then has to find her way home.
• Or even a widowed fish who needs to find his missing son.

Click here  for more examples of the Hero’s Journey in a range of stories.

If you start looking out for it as you watch movies and read books, you will start to see how varied the interpretations are, and how the same concepts that be found in all genres and mediums.

In fact, because of your own personal experience of life and the world, you couldn’t write a book that was the same as someone else by following these stages, even if you tried.

One of the most important things to remember when following the Hero’s Journey and its variations, is that nobody  invented  them.

An academic called Joseph Campbell is credited with analysing thousands of stories spanning the globe, from those told around tribal campfires to modern books and movies.

In doing so, Campbell identified similarities that emerged beyond all the borders and ages, and attempted to distil these common patterns into one fundamental ‘monomyth’. The Hero’s Journey is a modernised interpretation of that monomyth.

So, they are not a set of rules made up and laid out by some authority. They are a fundamental structure that emerged from the collective consciousness of our human psyche.

The success of the vast majority of bestsellers and box office huts is testament to the power of the Hero’s Journey to resonate with large numbers of people.

Cautions of the monomyth

Having said that… all interpretations we make of the world are shaped by our own experience, and the original monomyth laid out by Campbell certainly contains problematic terminology and elements.

Glaringly, there are those which focus on the traditionally male perspective and experience, but there are also issues with bias towards the western experience and attitudes of the time regarding dominance and individuality.

Campbell can’t be blamed for that, none of us can see the limitations of our own perspective because they are beyond our peripheral vision. However, it also means that we don’t need to treat his analysis as ‘sacred’.

And of course, the Hero’s Journey is already an interpretation of the original work, so it has already begun.

Despite these qualifications, disregarding the monomyth and Hero’s Journey would be throwing away some of a writer’s most useful tools.

And we can continue that work by evolving it to fit our changing experiences and attitudes to the world and our way of existing in it.

Of course, you could choose to throw it all out and start from scratch, creating your own stages, pacing and progression. But there is a much stronger chance you won’t tap into the collective unconscious; in which case you’ll need to work much harder to engage the audience.

Many have already begun this work, and created interpretations and variations which make it clearer that the emphasis is on a personal journey, rather than anything to do with men slaying dragons.

An excellent one is the Character Driven Hero’s Journey, as developed by Allen Palmer:

Genre specific novel outline templates

And of course, people who write in specific genres are able to identify stages and elements which tend to crop up consistently within their own genres, and have a positive effect on the popularity of their stories.

We’ve created a bunch of genre specific plot outline templates, including:

• Detective Noir
• Character Driven Hero’s Journey
• Mystery / Crime Thriller
• Short Story

You can access all of these below.

Stronger first draft

If you outline your plot before you start writing, you can be confident your first draft will have a solid structure from the outset, rather than hoping for it to emerge organically, or having to retroactively go and apply it

This will save time and effort when it comes to redrafting and editing towards your final manuscript.

Direction and Completion

Knowing where you’re going helps you get there.

Writing a novel is a mammoth task which can feel overwhelming. Having a plot outline helps break it down into manageable chunks, with clear goals.

It can keep you motivated and on track.

Frees up creativity

Contrary to stifling creativity, having a plot outline frees you up to let the words flow, because you don’t have to be preoccupied with the worry that you’re going to write 50,000 words then find yourself in a dead end.

Could take away the thrill of discovery

Many writers don’t want to know too much about their story before they start, as the knowing sucks out the excitement of discovering the story as they write.

And some successful writers report that they never plan before they start.

But when you analyse their work, you will usually discover that the stages are in fact. So what gives?

It’s not that they’re being dishonest, it’s that they have absorbed these patterns from their experiences of books, movies and life and are applying them sub-consciously.

If you don’t feel writing out a plot outline works for you, then it’s even more important to internalise the universal structures, so you can rely on your subconscious to take care of it.

Procrastination

Writers can sometimes be procrastinators to professional levels, so make sure you’re not doing your plot outline to death just to avoid starting your first draft.

But the fact is that there are certain things that tap into our human psyche. Skilled writers will subvert and break traditional structural conventions to great effect – but it’s unlikely they’ll do so by accident.

You have to know the rules before you can consistently break them effectively, so know about plot outlines and what they do is a great tool to have in your writer’s toolbox, whether you decide to use them in the end or not.

Find a plot outline that suits you

Read through a range of plot outline templates and see which resonates with you the most.

Write a few sentences for each of the stages

For each of the stages write a few sentences, or a paragraph which describe how that stage manifests in your novel.

Read through the entire thing and make sure it flows and makes sense. Make adjustments for consistency.

Ongoing improvement

As you’re writing your first draft and subsequent drafts, treat your plot outline like a working document, not a set of commandments carved into stone.

If it needs tweaking and updating, that’s fine. You may decide to reorder the stages, add new ones, or remove some.

Don’t be too rigid

As with all rules of thumb, you can break the conventions to great effect – the important thing is that you know what you’re doing and why, rather than just fumbling because you don’t have the right tools in the first place.

Following the stages fairly closely is the easiest way to take advantage of the patterns of the collective unconscious. Deviating from them is to be encouraged, but you have to be aware of the impact it will have, and realise you may have to work harder and use other techniques to engage the audience and keep them emotionally hooked.

Good luck with your plot outlines! Please share your plot outlines and other plot outline resources in the comments!

8 Plot Outline Templates - Free Downloadable PDFs

The plot structures below are available as free downloadable PDFs, but there  is  a better way to use them.

They are all fully integrated into the Novel Factory novel writing software.

There, you can select a template from the dropdown menu and begin writing within the software.

You are given the option to add and delete your own stages, sort them into acts, and drag and drop them into the order you prefer.

It takes using these novel outline templates to a new level of efficiency.

Get a free trial of the Novel Factory  to see it in action.

If you like these, you may also like our  free book writing worksheets.

Character Driven Plot Outline

This story outline is driven by the development of a compelling character arc .

The protagonist begins with something missing from their existence, even though they may not be aware of it.

Through the story, they learn why they feel incomplete and must face their demons and deepest fears in order to evolve as a person and become whole.

Incomplete  - establish the hero's 'want' and their 'need'

The protagonist is unfulfilled in their normal life. There will be two things missing – one thing that they think they want (like money, fame, a Porsche – you get the idea) and another thing which they haven’t thought of, but is the real thing that will give them fulfillment. (compassion, self-confidence, etc).

Unsettled  -  an outside force appears (e.g. invitation or threat)

The protagonist’s world becomes unsettled by an outside force. An invitation, threat, or attack, perhaps.

Romance Novel Story Outline

The classic romance story structure, including all the major story beats and complications.

Based on characters having personal character arcs and motivations that conflict with the romance aspect.

Introduce the protagonist (who feels incomplete)

Introduce the main character’s world. They may be successful in many areas of life, but clearly, there’s a gap when it comes to a loving relationship. Foreshadow the conflict that will create challenges for the romance to come. Establish the hero’s non-romance based goal.

The protagonist meets love interest but there is conflict

When the two main characters first meet it is extremely likely that they will hate each other on sight. Show how they are from different worlds, with strongly contrasting views on life.

Characters are forced to spend time together

Due to external factors, the characters are forced to spend time together, and even to cooperate to achieve a goal. They are still at odds, but the sparks are kindling some fire… A friend may even comment on it, but the couple-to-be both hotly deny there is an attraction.

Hero's Journey Novel Plot Outline

The Hero's Journey, as proposed by Joseph Campbell, trimmed to the bone and applicable across all genres - not just sword-wielding fantasies.

The Ordinary World

To begin with, you set the scene and introduce the main character. This is the place to establish what’s missing from the main character’s life, and give hints about the story to come.

Call to Adventure

An external force challenges the main character. This is usually an invitation or a threat.

The protagonist often expresses reluctance to answer the Call to Action. They may be afraid or feel poorly equipped for such a challenge. Sometimes the reluctance is expressed by a supporting character, not the hero.

Meeting with the Mentor

The mentor is a character of authority to the protagonist. They provide advice and useful gifts, such as weapons or talismans. The mentor often reflects the tone of the story - a tragedy will have a one who is toxic or destructive (or one who is already dead), a children's fairytale will have a benevolent all-knowing one, a dystopia may have an unreliable one. The mentor is usually a recurring character.

Mystery / Crime Thriller Plot Outline

A fairly detailed structure that explains how to develop the sleuth's inner character journey alongside solving the crime and uncovering deeper conspiracies.

Present the crime

Mysteries and crime thrillers often begin with a prologue in which the inciting crime takes place. The first crime is very likely to be a murder or kidnapping. This is from a POV that is not the main protagonist, it may be from the point of view of the victim, the killer, or an omniscient narrator.

Introduce the sleuth

Next, we meet the sleuth, who is the protagonist. This person is often a professional detective, but not always. Sometimes they are a normal person thrust into a situation that gives them no choice but to take action – usually because someone they love is missing or threatened.

Universal Novel Plot Outline

Based on the hero's journey, but rejigged to make the terminology more generic and easy to apply across genres.

The Status Quo

Introduce the main character’s world and establish their want and their need. The character clearly has things missing from their lives and they are unsatisfied with their current existence.

The Complication

Something happens to shake the character’s world and offers them an opportunity, or creates a threat.

In pursuit of the goal, the character crosses some kind of barrier (could be physical but doesn’t have to be), which means it is not possible to return to their old life.

A New World

The character is now in a new and unfamiliar world, trying to navigate unknown rules and challenges.

External Obstacles

The character must face a series of conflicts, each of increasing difficulty and stakes. Some they will win, some they will lose.

Internal Obstacles (temptation)

The most compelling stories will pit main characters against their inner demons, forcing them to overcome them in order to become a better person.

Dark Moment

In order for the high of the climax to have the greatest effect, you should precede it by taking your character as low as they can go. Despite all the progress they’ve made against external and internal obstacles, something should happen at the end of the second act which makes everything fall apart and makes them certain that all is lost.

The Final Conflict

This is the final battle where they throw everything they’ve learned and everything they’ve become, against the great enemy - and in the vast majority of cases, they will be victorious.

The Return Home

Bring your readers back down to earth after the climax, show the hero's new normal and tie up any loose ends.

Detective Noir Novel Plot Outline

Drawn from the detective noir / hard-boiled genres, a dark mystery structure with dark undertones and plenty of betrayal.

The protagonist of a detective noir is often an anti-hero. An outcast, often someone who held a heroic position in the past, such as a police officer or soldier, but who has fallen from grace. A sense of alienation should be established and maintained throughout the story.

The siren walks in

A client will appear, seeking help with a case – usually a murder or missing person. They may appear vulnerable or wanting to help, but they will have a deep, dark secret that is bound to get the protagonist into hot water.

Although the femme fatale trope is common, there is no requirement for the siren to be female, or sexy, and in fact, mixing it up may make your story more refreshing.

Initial investigation

The protagonist begins their investigations, searching for clues. This will often be done at night, and in the shadows. Throughout the investigation, there should be a healthy amount of red herrings.

Note - click here to read about the difference between hard-boiled and noir.

And you can read more about the elements of detective noir here.

Screenplay Plot Outline

Based on Hollywood Blockbusters.

Stage I: The Setup

Create the world and transport readers there. Introduce your hero in their everyday life and create empathy with them. Hint at the hero’s inner conflict (their ‘need’).

Turning Point #1: The Opportunity (10%)

10% into the story something new and different must happen to the hero. The Opportunity begins the journey and presents outer motivation.

Stage II: The new situation

They find themselves in a new situation. The newness of the situation may be internal (a new emotional state or attitude) or external (change in circumstances / location). The hero tries to navigate this new, unknown territory and begins to formulate a plan for achieving their outer motivation.

Turning Point #2: The Change of Plans (25%)

The outer motivation transforms into a specific, visible goal with a clearly defined endpoint.

Stage III: Progress

The hero makes progress towards their outer motivation. They may receive training and / or mentoring. There are conflicts and setbacks, but overall they seem to getting closer to achieving their goal.

Short Story Plot Outline

A seven-point system for writing a short story.

A character

In a short story you can often get away with characters being larger than life, or having distinctive qualities that are more exuberant, because the reader won’t be experiencing the character for so long that these characteristics begin to become tiresome or irritating.

Is in a situation

Very quickly you need to introduce the character’s world and their place in it. What is interesting about this character and their life? Make sure the reader feels excited and intrigued.

With a problem

At the heart of all good fiction is conflict. What problem does your character have to solve? Try to get to the problem as quickly as possible (within the first few paragraphs) so the reader is hooked and needs to know how the problem is going to be resolved.

They try to solve the problem

The character should begin to make efforts to solve their problem.

But fail, making it worse

But these efforts have the opposite effect, and the originally small problem begins to grow into something really serious.

Novlr is now writer-owned! Join us and shape the future of creative writing.

26 January 2024

How to Craft the Perfect Story Setting (With Downloadable Template)

Your setting is fundamental to your story. It’s the backbone of your plot and is essential to providing narrative context, establishing the mood and tone for your scenes, and even acting as a plot device in its own right. The best settings are the ones that readers will get lost in. So how can you craft the perfect story setting?

What is a story setting?

A strong setting is one of the fundamental building blocks of any great story. A good setting is believable, engaging, and supports your story’s themes. It can even be its own character , establishing mood and tone while informing the actions of the living characters around it.

Setting is also a fundamental part of worldbuilding : if you want to create an entire world full of different races, cultures, environments, and histories that exist within your overarching narrative, then establishing these things through a deep exploration of the locations in your story will help immerse readers in your world.

Why is setting important?

Your story’s setting is the stage upon which your narrative plays out. It’s one of the most critical elements of a good story. It can create atmosphere, mood, and tension for your readers and also become part of the conflict or help create obstacles for your protagonist to overcome.

A good setting can have a powerful sensory impact. You want readers to experience where your story takes place by incorporating descriptions of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Integral and Backdrop are the two most common types of settings used in creative writing. Integral settings are essential to the plot in some way, either because they are critical to the story’s conflict, your protagonist’s development, or serve a symbolic function. Backdrop settings are used when you simply need to illustrate where something is happening. It provides narrative flavour but does not affect the outcome of your story.

The elements of a great setting

Whether you are writing an Integral or a Backdrop setting, creating a richly textured world for your readers is essential. The more information you have about your settings, the easier it is to illustrate it vividly, even if half the information never makes it onto the page.

These fundamental elements are crucial to creating a striking impression on your readers:

If your setting is based on an actual location, make sure you get the details right . If you’ve been there, jot down your memories and try to remember the things you experienced. Research the history of a place and its population, and find out about the social lives of its residents.

Research becomes especially important if your setting is real, but you’ve never been there. Readers familiar with real locations will immediately pick up on inconsistencies, affecting their immersion and enjoyment of your work.

However, research is also vital for fictional settings, especially if they’re based on, or inspired by, real places. Fictional settings with a basis in reality can often fall into damaging tropes and stereotypes without a firm research foundation to ensure proper representation.

Give a sense of time

Whether you’re creating an overall setting for your project or just a location for a single scene, it’s important to orient your readers in a time or place. Consistency is key to fleshing out your world, so having a firm grasp on when and where certain events occur is essential to keeping your readers immersed.

While different scenes can happen at the same location, knowing how that location changes with time in advance of writing will help you write more meaningful scenes. What is the light like at twilight and dawn? Do the seasons affect the way this setting looks? Is it the kind of place that would change if people didn’t regularly visit it (i.e. overgrown vegetation, fading paint etc.)?

Give context

Your setting is more than just a location; it’s also the world surrounding it. This is especially important when creating an Integral, rather than a Background setting.

Social, historical, and political background all feed into what your setting will be, whether you are writing about an actual place or imagining a brand new one. Fleshing out the history of your setting and how world events might affect it in both the short and the long term will help you orient not only yourself while you’re writing, but your readers as well.

Do be aware of the dreaded info dump or over-writing. Knowing as much about your setting as possible helps you build a compelling world, but that doesn’t mean that every historical factoid or significant world event needs to be painstakingly explained. Instead, hint at context in key moments of your narrative to organically bring your setting to life.

Be descriptive

Being descriptive does not mean describing every detail of your setting. Over-describing is an easy trap to fall into, but it can be detrimental to the pacing of your plot. Instead, describe the things that make your setting unique.

If you’re building an Integral setting, explain why this particular time and place is necessary for the story you’re trying to tell. If you’re writing a Background setting, describe the things that set this specific location apart.

Different readers like different levels of description, so make sure to tailor it to your ideal reader and your genre audience. For instance, high fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction often have a much more detailed setting description than YA and romance.

Be specific

Most readers know what a tree looks like, so specificity paints a more striking picture when you describe a setting visually. If a scene takes place in a forest, for instance, knowing the kind of trees, the specific animals, and even things like the temperature will go a long way to fleshing out your setting.

Specifics are essential to building a vivid sense of time and place. It lets your readers imagine exactly what your characters are seeing and experiencing. A good setting directly influences the plot; it affects your characters’ mood, behaviour, and thoughts and can even be central to their internal and external goals and conflicts. Communicating that to your readers through specifics helps immerse them in your story’s world and invest them in your character’s development.

Engage the senses

Sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste; all this helps bring your setting to life. Creating a sensory experience for your readers will make your story memorable and allow them to experience what is happening rather than simply reading about it. It refers to that overused but apt phrase, “show, don’t tell.”

You can say a lot about a place by evoking a sensory experience, especially combined with all the other elements of a great setting. For example, the texture of weathered stone could speak to the history of a place, or the smell of freshly-baked bread could evoke memories of childhood for a character. In this way, you not only create a sensory experience for your readers, but it can also help guide your character development.

Not every setting in your story will need the same level of detail put to page, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not helpful to have that detail down for reference, especially if you’re worldbuilding.

Download our handy setting description cheat sheet to give you a blueprint to craft the perfect setting for your next writing project. Just download it and import it into the notes section of your next Novlr project.

The key to crafting a great story setting is to keep it immersive but not overwhelming. Knowing a lot about your setting in advance helps you to trickle feed information into your plot, but remember, not everything you brainstorm needs to make it into the finished product. A well-developed setting gives you the foundation to pick and choose what gets included in your story to relay a compelling and immersive narrative.

The 12 Best Free Evernote Templates for Creative Writers

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Writing a novel becomes easier when you plan everything from your characters and plot to your publishing steps, especially if you’re going it alone.

Evernote has several free templates specifically designed to help creative writers lay out their stories and self-publishing journey. Some you can access straight from the website, but you need the right links for others.

The Best Evernote Templates for Creative Writers

Here are your obvious options when it comes to Evernote’s creative writing templates .

1. Story Dashboard

If you want a simple planner for writing and publishing your novel, Evernote has a template that lets you outline the book, set goals, and track your progress.

It’s a perfect addition to the handy widgets on your Evernote home dashboard , all of which can make you more efficient when organizing your work as an author.

As for the template itself, you can add the novel’s title, genre, word count, and important links, while also setting dates and deadlines for outlining the story, writing the first draft, getting beta reader feedback, and so on.

2. Story Premise

This Evernote form lets you establish the key parts of your novel, including its setting, situation, protagonist, antagonist, inciting event, and conflict.

The point is to be able to summarize all the elements above in two sentences. The template offers the relevant box at the bottom, as well as an example summary.

3. Three-Act Novel Plotting

Sometimes you need to get your storyline on paper to visualize and make sense of it. Evernote can help with its plotting template for classic three-part narratives.

It gives you a structured outline of your book’s beginning, middle, and ending, each part featuring several key elements a good story should have. So, the template lets you plan the book, but also guides you on how to do it well.

4. Character Profile

Characters are essential to any plot, and the better you plan them, the easier you can insert and develop them in your book. This is where Evernote’s character profile template comes in handy.

It prompts you to think about obvious and obscure details about your character, such as their appearance, occupation, religion, greatest fear, and biggest secret. If you have character art, you can even add that to their profile.

Secret Evernote Templates for Creative Writers

Bookmark the following links as they don’t appear on Evernote's website. You still don’t have to spend anything to use these tools for authors, a winning feature when it comes to comparing Evernote’s free and paid plan .

5. Character Biography

Another character-related template available on Evernote involves their backstory. Unlike the profile template, this form focuses on key moments in the character’s life.

You can include their name and role in the novel before setting and dating events they experienced, as well as their age at the time.

6. Character Master List

It’s just as useful to have a full list of your book’s characters, which Evernote has thought of, too.

This template has you establish your main characters, antagonists, and additional cast, including their names, ages, notes, and images.

7. Novel Chapter Outline

The best novel writing plan includes a breakdown of its chapters. Evernote has an outline template just for that.

You can add a summary of your book at the top and then use the form’s simple checklist to lay out the events of each chapter. Even if your plot changes while writing, it’s handy to have a clear overview of minute details to refer to whenever you need.

8. Story Beats

You could also have a plan for your book’s important scenes without putting them into specific chapters yet.

Evernote’s story beats template, based on Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat screenwriting structure, breaks down key plot elements, like the theme stated, the inciting incident, the bad guys closing in, and the finale.

Next to each beat description, add your scene ideas in as much detail as you want. To come up with these, think about what events would best reflect your book’s goals. Free mind map tools are great for putting your thoughts in order.

9. Story Timeline Tracker

If your narrative depends on a timeline, you may want to plan and track what happens when. Then, you’re less likely to make mistakes, for example, when linking up parallel plots.

A template is available on Evernote that lets you sort through events by date, day, and time. Besides organizing your book’s core plot, you could track the timelines of different characters or the story’s background events.

10. World-Building Basics

There are many ways to plan your fictional universe, so see which one helps you visualize it best. If mind maps or world-building apps on Android don’t cut it, try Evernote’s practical template.

It’s basically a questionnaire about your story’s overall setting, namely the place where events unravel, as well as its people and culture.

This is another template you can use for multiple parts of your story, adjusting it as necessary. If, say, the plot involves different countries, some of the form’s questions can help flesh out each culture.

11. Snowflake Novel Writing Method

Randy Ingermanson developed the Snowflake method for designing and writing a novel, which Evernote simplified further with a template taking you through each step.

You start with a short synopsis of your book and expand that with more and more detail, including different characters’ perspectives of the story and a list or spreadsheet of all the scenes.

Choose the right elements for your narrative, and you’ll end up with a meticulous plan that only needs you to put it into words. To build your skill and confidence, keep practicing and learning from the best platforms for online writing courses like MasterClass .

12. Self-Publishing Checklist

A final template on Evernote that might interest you contains a handy checklist of the steps to self-publishing your book—after you’ve finished writing it.

Completing the manuscript is the first item on the list to tick and date. From there, the template prompts you to write the blurb, get the book edited and designed, format it as an ebook, and more.

You could also use the date column to set deadlines for each task and either tick them when done or adjust your schedule as you work.

Templates for Creative Writers Can Make Your Life Easier

Skipping the planning stage of writing a book is not a good idea as it will affect the quality of your story. Fortunately, Evernote has many templates to choose from, depending on your plot and writing style.

What’s even better is that this isn’t the only resource for creative writers around. Keep exploring websites and apps for tools you can use on your computer and smartphone.

• My Storyboards

Creative Writing Worksheet Templates

Customize creative writing templates.

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the worksheet to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

What is a Creative Writing Worksheet?

If you are someone who enjoys writing, you probably know that it takes more than just creativity to produce an engaging story or a captivating poem. These kills require a lot of practice and a structured approach. This is where creative writing worksheets come in handy. Whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting, these worksheets can help you express your thoughts and ideas more effectively. These worksheets help kids plan different story formats, with story maps to guide plot or fun shapes to fit a theme or idea.

Why are Creative Writing Templates Important and How are They Best Used?

Creative work is often where children get the most enjoyment out of writing in school and where they can exercise their imaginations. These templates help develop their plot sequence, create personalities for characters, and shape conflict. Moreover the templates give students the opportunity to write about themes and ideas in a format that is different from traditional lined paper, which can stimulate their creativity and make the process more fun and interesting.

Creative writing worksheets, such as story template writing and creative writing outline template, are essential tools for developing writing skills. They offer a structured approach to learning and practicing writing skills by breaking down the writing process into manageable steps and providing prompts and activities. By using these worksheets, students can learn how to organize their thoughts, create an outline, and develop a cohesive and engaging plot. This can help writers build confidence in their abilities and develop a better understanding of how to craft a well-written story or essay.

In addition to providing structure, these worksheets also encourage creativity and self-expression. By presenting your class with prompts that challenge them to think outside the box, these worksheets can help them express themselves in unique and innovative ways. Moreover, they can ignite a passion for writing and storytelling, which can translate to other aspects of their lives.

Besides promoting creativity, these worksheets also reinforce language skills, including vocabulary and grammar. By including prompts that focus on specific vocabulary or grammar concepts, students can learn and practice those concepts in a way that is engaging and memorable.

Types of Creative Writing Worksheets

• Writing Paper: Writing paper is a basic worksheet that provides a blank space for you to write your story or poem. It is an essential tool for any writer, and you can find various types of paper, including lined paper, graph paper, and plain paper.
• Story Planning Template: A story planning template is a worksheet that helps you plan your story. It includes sections for characters, setting, plot, and other important elements. This template is useful for those who want to organize their ideas before starting to write.
• Story Writing Outline: A story writing outline is a worksheet that helps you create a structured outline for your work. It includes sections for the beginning, middle, and end, as well as character development and plot progression.
• Creative Writing Template: This is a worksheet that provides a framework for your writing. It can include sections for different types of writing, such as descriptive writing or poetry, and can be used to structure your process.
• Butterfly Writing Template: A butterfly writing template is a fun and engaging worksheet that helps you explore different perspectives and viewpoints. It includes sections for different viewpoints, such as the perspective of an insect or a flower, and can be used to write stories or poems.
• Creative Writing Planning Sheet: A creative writing planning sheet is a worksheet that helps you plan. It includes sections for brainstorming, outlining, and organizing your ideas.
• Creative Writing Storyboard: A creative writing storyboard is a worksheet that helps you visualize what you want to writer about. It includes sections for different scenes and can be used to plan your story's progression visually.
• Creative Writing Prompts: These prompts are worksheets that provide inspiration. They can include prompts for different types of writing, such as poetry or fiction, and can help you generate new ideas.

Making Creative Writing Worksheets from Scratch

• Determine Your Objective: Start by identifying what you want your students to achieve through the worksheet. Do you want them to practice a specific writing skill or develop their creativity? Knowing your objective will help you create prompts and activities that are focused and effective.
• Choose a Format: Decide on the format that you want your worksheet to take. Different formats work better for different objectives, so choose one that aligns with your goal.
• Create Prompts and Activities: Develop prompts and activities that are tailored to your objective and format. For example, if you want your class to practice descriptive writing, you could provide a prompt that asks them to describe a particular object or scene.
• Incorporate Visual Aids: Consider using visual aids, such as images or illustrations, to help students generate ideas and engage with the material. This can make the worksheet more interesting and accessible.
• Test and Revise: Once you have created your worksheet, test it out with a small group of students to see how effective it is. Take feedback on board and make revisions as needed to ensure that the worksheet meets your objectives and engages students in the writing process.

Tips For Creating Your Own Creative Writing Worksheets

If you want to create your own worksheets, here are some tips to help you get started:

• Determine the Purpose of Your Worksheet: Decide what type of worksheet you want to create and what it should accomplish.
• Choose a Template: Select a template that fits the purpose of your worksheet. There are many templates available online that you can use as a starting point.
• Include Prompts or Examples: To help your class or yourself get started, include prompts or examples that will inspire creativity.
• Make it Visually Appealing: Use images, colors, and fonts to make your worksheet visually appealing.

Making a worksheet from scratch can be fun, but using one of our premade templates will be so much easier! Check out how below.

How to Make Creative Writing Worksheets

Choose one of the premade templates.

We have lots of amazing templates to choose from. Take a look at our colorful example for inspiration!

Click on "Copy Template"

Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.

Give Your Poster a Name!

Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.

Edit Your Poster

This is where you will include details, text, images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Click "Save and Exit"

When you are finished with your poster, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Using Creative Writing Worksheets Effectively

Once you have created your worksheets, here are some strategies for using them effectively:

• Incorporate them into your teaching: Use creative writing worksheets as part of your classroom curriculum to help your students improve their writing skills.
• Use them as a warm-up: Use creative writing worksheets as a warm-up activity before beginning a writing project to get your creative juices flowing.
• Share examples: Share examples of completed worksheets to help your class understand how to use them effectively.

Even More Storyboard That Resources and Free Printables

• Poem Templates
• Illustrated Story
• Composition Worksheet
• Setting Map
• Journal Cover Worksheet

Happy Creating!

Frequently Asked Questions About Creative Writing Worksheets

In what ways do creative writing worksheets help improve writing skills.

These worksheets, including story planning templates and story outlines, are a versatile tool for improving composition skills. They provide a structured approach, while offering prompts and activities that focus on specific skills such as character development or descriptive writing. In addition to helping students develop creativity, vocabulary, and grammar skills, these worksheets can improve critical thinking skills by asking writers to analyze and interpret literary texts or create their own stories and characters. By providing a framework for them to organize their thoughts and ideas, these templates can be especially helpful for kids who struggle with getting started on a written assignment. Overall, they are a valuable resource for helping students become better writers and more confident communicators.

How can creative writing worksheets be used to teach different writing genres?

These worksheets can be adapted to teach different genres, such as poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. For example, a worksheet could focus on developing descriptive language for poetry writing, or on creating character profiles for fiction writing. By tailoring the prompts and activities to specific genres, children can learn the skills needed to write in those genres.

How can creative writing worksheets be used to encourage creativity?

Examples and worksheets can be used to encourage creativity by providing prompts and activities that inspire writers to think outside the box. For example, a worksheet could ask students to write a story from the perspective of an inanimate object, or to create a new world with its own rules and customs. By encouraging writers to explore their imagination and creativity, our worksheets can help foster a love of the written word and storytelling.

How can teachers help students who want to know how to start creative writing using worksheets?

Teachers can help by providing clear instructions and guidance on how to use the worksheets effectively. This can include demonstrating how to use story planning templates and outlines to organize their thoughts and ideas, as well as providing prompts and activities that inspire creativity and encourage writers to think outside the box. Additionally, teachers can offer feedback and support throughout the process to help students develop their creative ideas, writing skills and build confidence. By providing a supportive and structured learning environment, teachers can help students of all levels improve their abilities and achieve their goals.

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Story Planner – A Free Printable To Develop Your Creative Story

There are two basic ways to create a story. The first is to sit down and just start writing a story, throwing your ideas onto a page and hoping it becomes a developed adventure. The other way involves a lot of planning and diving into your adventure before you actually start putting your story down on paper. This resource is an easy story planner to help pull all your ideas together if you choose option #2 for your creative writing.

Table of Contents

>> DOWNLOAD THIS STORY PLANNER <<

This story planner will help you think a lot about all the aspects of the story you are going to write. It will challenge you to think in depth about your character, your setting, the problems and solutions, and the events along the way. It’s a great way to flesh out ideas and throw yourself into the adventure so you can envision the people, places, and struggles when you go to share them with others.

Included in the 13 pages of My Story Planner:

• Main Character: Physical Appearance, Personality, Their Family, Hobbies, Habits, Occupation.
• Supporting Character Details
• Additional Characters
• The Story: Genre, Point of View, The Plot
• Location/Setting
• Outline of Events
• The Solution
• Final Thoughts: The Ending, The Title, Your Reader

Each topic has a bunch of questions to help you think about something you might not have considered before. You don’t have to answer every single question – just use them to get your thinking going! Do as much detail as possible to make it easier to bring your story to life!

You can use this for more than a novel, too. What about a video game ? Most of the great ones have a terrific story to give you a goal to work towards. Or a movie? You can use this planner for that as well. Think outside the box!

Need something to get the creative juices going? Check out this list of creative story starters .

June 2013: This publication is no longer available, however the website has been archived and can still be referenced. The Read more

If you've been looking for a way to develop the spelling skills of your child in the Grade 6 to Read more

Sorry for another non-Canadian resource this week, but this one starts soon and is very exciting! National Novel Writing Month Read more

Not Canadian, but still a great resource. Thanks to the Screen Actors' Guild, StoryLine Online features well known actors like Read more

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Story Map Template

Map out the core themes for your next story

The Story Map template helps you lay the foundation for writing your novel. It asks five critical questions about your novel so that you can begin formulating a vision for it. This story planner helps you see and analyze your vision from different, fresh perspectives.

After completing this template, you'll have a refined concept for a novel. Follow it up with the Story Outline and Character Profile templates to really round out your story.

This template is part of our guide on How to plan a novel .

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How to Plan a Creative Writing Piece

Last Updated: May 26, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lucy V. Hay . Lucy V. Hay is a Professional Writer based in London, England. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lucy is an author, script editor, and award-winning blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. She received a B.A. in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 137,164 times.

Whether you are writing for fun or to satisfy a school assignment, planning a creative writing piece can be a challenge. If you don't already have an idea in mind, you will need to do a little brainstorming to come up with something that interests you. Once you have a general idea of what you want to write about, the best way to get started is to break your project into smaller, more manageable parts. When you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your piece, the writing itself will come more easily.

Getting Started

• You can find character sheet templates online, such as here: https://www.freelancewriting.com/copywriting/using-character-sheets-in-fiction-writing/ .

Writing Your Piece

• Kurt Vonnegut grabs the reader's attention at the start of Slaughterhouse-Five quite simply, by saying, “All this happened, more or less.”
• Tolstoy summed up the main theme of his novel Anna Karenina in its very first sentence: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

• If you are writing a work of fiction, each of your main characters has something they want, which motivates them to make the choices that drive the plot forward.
• If you are writing a non-fiction work about an actual person or event, include specific details about the key players to make them more interesting to your reader.

• Think of a familiar place you encounter every day, but set the story 100 years in the future – or 1,000.
• Set your story in the modern day world, but change one very key element – imagine that dinosaurs never went extinct, electricity was never invented, or aliens have taken over the planet.
• Whatever time period you choose, make sure the reader has a firm understanding of it early in your story so that they can properly follow the story. The reader needs to know the time period in order to imagine that characters and scenes.

• If you are writing something for the young adult market, focus on the things that matter most to teens and don't worry about whether older adults will like it.
• If you want to write a particular type of fiction, like westerns or sci-fi, read the most popular works in that genre to understand what its readers expect.
• Not everyone will appreciate your sense of humor, and that's okay – be yourself, and let your work speak to those who do.

Staying Motivated

Developing Your Concept

• Novels. The novel is one of the most popular forms of creative writing, and also one of the most challenging. A novel is a large project, with most novels containing at least 50,000 words. Any topic can be the subject of a novel. Certain types of novels are so popular that they belong to their own category, or genre. Examples of genre fiction are romance, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy.
• Short stories. A work of fiction under 7,500 words is usually considered a short story. A short story usually has all of the elements of a novel, including a structured plot. However, experimental forms of short stories like flash fiction do away with ordinary narrative conventions and can take almost any form the author chooses.
• Personal essay or memoir. A personal essay or memoir is a work of non-fiction based on your life. Drawing on your own life experiences can provide you with a wide array of story topics. Not only that, it can be an interesting way to better understand yourself and share your experiences with the world.
• Blogs. The word blog is a shortened form of the term web log, which can refer to any type of writing that is published regularly on the internet. Blogs can be stories, factual pieces, or diaries.
• Poetry. Poetry can take any number of forms, from traditional rhyming couplets to modern free-form verse. Poets typically develop their own unique writing style and write about any topic imaginable, from situations and emotions to current events or social commentary.
• Screenplays or stage plays. These are detailed scripts written for a film or a play. This form of writing has very specific rules about structure and formatting, but the subject matter can be anything you like. [10] X Research source

• Keep your eyes open for compelling stories in the news that could provide a starting point.
• Observe what is happening around you and turn it into a story.
• Adapt your thoughts into a story.
• Draw on an interesting or unusual event that happened in your own life.
• Search the web for “writing prompts” and you'll find lots of ideas to get you going, suggested by other writers. You could even use a random prompt generator website to get a unique suggestion just for you!

• The popular 1990s teen movie Clueless is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma .
• The classic Greek myth The Odyssey has been re-imagined in countless ways, including James Joyce's Ulysses and the Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou? Many authors have adapted its basic story structure of a hero's quest.
• Stories about vampires are all loosely adapted from Bram Stoker's Dracula, but many different writers have put their own unique spin on the concept.

• Salinger's Catcher in the Rye contains themes of alienation and coming of age.
• Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series addresses themes of courage, and the triumph of good over evil.
• Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy plays with themes about the absurdity of life, the interconnectedness of all things, and how seemingly minor incidents can have huge consequences.

Expert Q&A

• Try to provide something of value to the reader, who is investing their time in reading your work. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• The best writing is always simple, clear, and concise. Overly complicated sentences can be difficult to follow, and you may lose your reader's interest. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/developing_an_outline/how_to_outline.html
• ↑ https://www.scad.edu/sites/default/files/PDF/Animation-design-challenge-character-sheets.pdf
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/5-ways-to-start-writing-your-novel-today
• ↑ https://www.georgebrown.ca/sites/default/files/uploadedfiles/tlc/_documents/hooks_and_attention_grabbers.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/creative_writing/characters_and_fiction_writing/writing_compelling_characters.html
• ↑ https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/prewriting/writing-for-an-audience
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/goalsetting/how
• ↑ https://researchwriting.unl.edu/developing-effective-writing-habits
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/resources/writing_instructors/grades_7_12_instructors_and_students/what_to_do_when_you_are_stuck.html
• ↑ https://www.acs.edu.au/info/writing/creative-writing/creative-writers.aspx
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html

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