nano prep week 3: construct a detailed plot or outline

[lostinthelightss]

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there are a million different ways to plot a novel, and it can be overwhelming to figure out which one will work for you! take this extremely scientific quiz+ to get some suggestions on which plotting method might work for you… then finish one of the exercises to test it out!

 

1. the "jot, bin, pants" method

Spoiler

get yourself in a creative space, whatever that means for you. use index cards or a notebook or the next page. close your eyes and start imagining your way through your novel, as if you were reading it inside your head. jot down every single scene that comes to you using just a few words. take different paths on purpose to see what happens, and write down scene ideas even if they contradict each other.

do this every day until you’ve thought through and collected around 50-100 scene ideas (depending on the length of your novel). 

time to sort! spread your index cards on the ground or flip through your notebook or digital doc. group the scenes into beginning, middle, and end piles (or docs, files, bins, etc). don’t throw away any scene ideas yet - add them to a “maybe not” group.

now fine-tune your piles. look at your beginning pile, figure out what your first few scenes might be, and put them in order. use your instinct to guide you - what makes sense? what feels right? if you realize a scene is missing, add it! eventually, your goal is to have a list of scenes in the order they might happen in your story.

use your list of scenes as a rough guide to keep you on track and moving forward throughout the month, but pants your way through all the actual writing. you’ll discover new things about your characters and world as you write, but the general story structure might not change too much. or it might! you can always return to the dreamstorm stage if you realize you need to imagine your way down a different path.
 

 

2. the plot rollercoaster

Spoiler

1. Describe your set-up. In one or two paragraphs, describe a few scenes that will happen at the beginning of your book to introduce your characters, setting, and main conflicts of your story. Think about showing your protagonist in their ordinary life, before everything changes. 

2. Describe your inciting incident. In one paragraph, describe the event that causes your protagonist to begin their adventure. Think: "The moment everything changed was when..."

3. List events in your rising action. Write a list of five (or more) events that build up to the climax of your novel. These are the steps that take your protagonist farther and farther away from their ordinary life, on the journey to get what they want. Keep increasing the conflict little by little. Throw obstacles in their way! Give them some hard choices to make! Add supporting characters to help! 

4. Describe your climax. In one paragraph, describe what will happen in the climax of your novel. This is the "Oh my gosh, what will happen next?!" moment.

5. Describe your falling action. In one to two paragraphs, describe a few scenes that happen after the climax. Does your protagonist get what they want? Does the antagonist get defeated? How?

6. Describe your resolution. In one to two paragraphs, describe the scenes that happen at the very end of your novel. Try to show off how your character and their world have changed. What is normal life like for them now? 

 

3. the 9-step plot dot

Spoiler

1. Ordinary World (start with lack) – Show your main character (MC) and their normal life, including friends, family, job/school. What flaws do they have? What’s missing from their life? What do they want more than anything in the world? 

2. Inciting Incident (call to adventure) – Boom! Something big changes. Maybe a stranger moves to town, or a family member dies, or there’s an earthquake. Whatever it is, it kicks your story into action. What happens? How does your MC react? Do they accept this call to adventure right away, or try to ignore/deny what’s happening so everything can just go back to normal?

3. First Plot Point (point of no return) – Your MC may have tried to avoid the call, but now things are getting weirder/more intense, and they’re forced to make a choice to join the action. Everything changes - there’s no going back now! How does the situation escalate? What forces your MC to choose? How do they feel about it all?

4. First Pinch Point (first battle) – Your MC has been exploring their new situation - meeting people, learning new things....and discovering new dangers and tensions. This all leads to the First Pinch Point, which is the first major interaction with the antagonist (in some form). What happens? What will happen if your MC fails to defeat this challenge at the end of the story (the stakes)?  

5. Midpoint (shift from victim to warrior) – Your MC continues to face new challenges, but they’re on the defense - mostly reacting, waiting, making things worse. Then, halfway through the novel, something happens to shift their perspective and spur them to take action, to stop reacting and start winning, no matter what it takes. What does your MC try when they’re on the defense? What shifts them into offense? What new plans do they make? 

6. Second Pinch Point (second battle) – Your MC has their second confrontation with the antagonist (in some form). Maybe their plans lead to this, or maybe it was an attack they had to respond to. Either way, this second conflict eventually leads to things being much, much worse than they were before… What happens? What does your MC try to do? How do things get worse?

7. Second Plot Point (dark night of the soul) – At this point, everything the MC feared could happen, has happened. They’ve lost the battle (usually because of their flaw or lack of knowledge) and there have been serious consequences. They feel terrible and give up all hope… until something forces them to change their mind, to have a revelation about themselves and their battle. With this new knowledge, they rise up from the ashes. What terrible things have happened? What does your MC do? What revelation do they have, and what new plans do they make? 

8. Final Battle (triumph-knowledge) – With their new knowledge, and maybe a pep talk from a close friend, your MC goes to battle with their biggest, baddest enemy (whatever that means in your story). Make it dramatic! There’s a back and forth, things seem dark, your MC is going to lose, oh no! And then, victory. What will that final conflict be? What will be the most exciting, tense, drama-filled part of your story? 

9. Return to Ordinary World – Your MC returns home, changed. They see their old life in a new way. How have they changed? What do they do? How do they feel? 

 

4. the save the cat! beat sheet

Spoiler

ACT ONE

1. Opening Image (0-1%) – Show a “before” snapshot of your protagonist and their world. What is life like before the adventure begins? 

2. Set-up (1-10%) – Keep showing that ordinary “before” world. Explore your protagonist’s life, including the internal flaws and external challenges they’ll have to overcome in order to change for the better by the end of the story. Also introduce important supporting characters.

3. Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up) – Somewhere in your set-up, include a scene where a character says something that hints at what the protagonist’s big life lesson will be - how they’ll have to change and grow by the end of the story. The protagonist won’t understand the lesson until later, though.

4. Catalyst (10%) – This is when life-as-they-know-it changes forever! There’s no going back to the “before” world from here… What is the inciting incident that pushes the protagonist into the next phase of the story?

5. Debate (11-20%) – But change is scary! Show the protagonist questioning themselves and resisting the path ahead - wondering whether they have what it takes, or whether or they should just run home and hide under the bed. This is their last chance to chicken out. “Should I just…?” “I really shouldn’t because…” “But what about…”

ACT TWO

6. Break Into 2 (20%)  – Your protagonist answers the call! They make the choice to begin their adventure/transformation/journey/new thing. Show your protagonist deciding to plunge into Act 2. 

7. The Promise of the Premise/ Fun and Games (21-50%) – This is when the reader thinks “Ah, now we’re getting to the good stuff they hinted at on the back cover of this book!” It’s also one of the longest sections in your book. Show your protagonist getting used to their new world - loving it, hating it, making mistakes or doing well, meeting new people (see more below) and keeping the reader entertained. 

8. B Story (happens during The Promise of the Premise) – Introduce a new character or characters who will eventually help the protagonist learn their life lesson. Friends? Mentors? Love interests? Nemeses (nemesi?)? Who are they? How will they help? 

9. Midpoint (50%) – This moment is when everything seems “great” or everything seems “awful,” depending on your story. Either the Fun and Games section has lead to a false victory for your protagonist (they think they’ve been doing great so far) or a false defeat (they’ve been having a hard time so far). What happens in this moment, halfway between beginning and end?

10. Bad Guys Close In (51-75%) – Get ready for a bumpy ride. If your Midpoint was a false victory, now things start to go wrong for your protagonist. If the Midpoint was a false defeat, well, things seem to be looking up, but the bad guys are getting closer and will have something to say. Note: Bad guys can be actual physical enemies, but they can also be emotional enemies, like doubt or jealousy or fear. Show the protagonist’s newly-built world beginning to unravel. (This will also be one of the longer sections in your novel).

11. All is Lost (75%) – Oh, dear. This is when something happens to make your character hit rock bottom. It’s the absolute lowest part of your novel. Maybe someone or something dies (either literally or figuratively). What does this moment look like for your protagonist?

12. Dark Night of the Soul (76-80%) – Your protagonist now has time to react to their “All is lost” moment, to mourn what they lost and wallow in hopelessness. Yeah, it’s not pretty. They’re worse off than they were at the beginning of the novel. Show how low things have gotten. 

ACT THREE

13. Break Into 3 (80%) – The “aha!” moment; the “lift yourself up and try again” moment. Show the protagonist realizing what they need to do in order to tackle their problems, both external and internal.

14. Finale (81-99%) – The protagonist does what they decided to do in the Break Intro 3 beat, and (because of all the learning/growing they’ve done and the support or insight from the B Story), their plan works! The Bad Guys are defeated, the world is changed for the better. What are the battles? How will the protagonist triumph (or not)? This is another longer section, so you’ve got the space to make things dramatic and intense!

15. Final Image (99-100%) – This is the opposite of the Opening Image, the “after” snapshot instead of the “before.” Show the reader how the protagonist and their world have changed!

 

5. kaytastic's 3 act / 9 block / 27 chapter outline

Spoiler

you can watch her how-to video here+, then fill in the pieces of your story below

ACT ONE

1. introductions
2. inciting incident
3. fall out
4. reaction/revel
5. action
6. consequence
7. pressure
8. plot twist!
9. push
10. new world
11. fun and games
12. old juxtaposition
13. build up
14. midpoint
15. reversal
16. consequence
17. trials
18. dedication
19. calm before storm
20. plot twist!
21. darkest moment
22. power within
23. action/rally
24. converge
25. battle
26. climax
27. resolution/the end

 

feel free to share your plot with the rest of your nano preppers, but we will ask that you use spoiler tags to make scrolling through the thread easier

Edited September 2, 2022 by lostinthelightss

[lostinthelightss]

i got 30% 9-step plot and 25% save the cat, so i will try to use both to get a clearer idea of my project once i actually get around to week 3 prep (can you tell i'm procrastinating other work rn? )

Spoiler

9-step plot dot: “Beginning, middle, and end” just doesn’t cut it for you - you want more! You’re not making any 100-point outlines, but you do appreciate a well-structured, well-planned plot.

save the cat!: Some people like to write their way through the wilds of a first draft and then figure out where the story is later. You are not one of these people! You enjoy figuring out how the pieces of a story work together, and planning out the specific plot beats of your story ahead of time make you feel confident and ready to write.

the tricky thing is that as of now, the plot centres around a couple, so i'm not entirely sure if there'll be one protagonist or two. i really love reading dual pov, so if that's the case, i'll have to plot for both MCs, which just means a little bit of extra planning? i'm sure i'll be able to manage though!

[Oregonian]

I took the test and came out very Middle-of the Road-ish. 26% the 9-step plot, 22% plot roller coaster, 22% Save The Cat, 17% 3-act 9-block-27-chapter outline, and 13% Jot-Bin-Pants.  It is interesting and enlightening to read about the mechanics of the various approaches to writing a novel, but none of these methods seems to address what is important to me -- the spark, the fire that makes this story different from others, that makes it unscroll in your minds eye like a spectacle movie, full of visuals that transport you out of your ordinary existence.  If the first 11% of a story (44 pages in a 400-page novel, the first 11,000 words) was just the protagonist living in his/her/their ordinary world, washing the car, grilling hamburgers on the patio, no hint of anything un-boring, I would be so out of there.

I had never thought of myself as a Pantser, because I know where my stories are going, but there's more Pantser in me than I previously realized.  I start early on with vivid scenes, as if on index cards, and figure ways to fit them into the story line because they are so great.

Recently I encountered a Rule of Thumb: Subtract your age from 100, then read that number of pages in a new book, and if it hasn't captured your imagination by then, discard the book.  Good idea.  The older you get, the less time you can afford to waste reading stories that never capture your heart or your imagination.  I recently started reading Lonesome Dove, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel with many great reviews, but if it doesn't stop being 'literary' and start getting interesting pretty soon, I'll be putting it down.

Meanwhile, I soldier on with my writing, cherishing every review that says "I never read anything like this before." (Won't win any Pulitzer Prizes, however.)

[Pixileanin]

I love the Save the Cat beat sheets, and I also love puzzling my stories together with index cards. This month, I will do a bit of both and see what happens.

[ineffable_season]

I attempted to do the "Save the cat," but I think I ended up with more "the 9 step plot dot." And I sort of veered away from my original idea in lieu of working on a Regency (novel length) story for @inmyownlittlecorner's challenge. Too many ideas, not enough time to explore them all. But hey, I'm writing and I actually have a plan? Who am I? Is this growth?

[Oregonian]

It sounds like you've got an embarrassment of riches, @prideofprewett.  It sure has the possibility of being growth.  <- that's a farmer.

[singmetothesun]

30% Give me the basics! The plot Rollercoaster 

26% I  plot! The 9-step plot dot

22% Stay loose! Jot, Bin, Pants

22% I  Outlining SO MUCH! Katytastic's 3 Act / 9 Block / 27 chapter outline 

[Pixileanin]

@prideofprewett That is awesome!  Will you be my Regency writing buddy? I needs a buddy.

[Aphoride]

i got 45% the 9 step plot dot which honestly isn't exactly what i was expecting since i've never really thought of myself as someone who likes or needs to plan really?? but apparently i don't know myself as well as i thought  

i have no idea whether i'll have time to write anything at all this november, but i might try to plan some stuff in the lead up and we'll see how it goes, i guess??  

[ineffable_season]

Ok, alright, so I played around with the "9-step plot dot" approach and I feel somewhat confident that it might actually benefit my writing this NaNo? I like that while you have to identify key moments for the characters in the story, you aren't forced to really hash everything out in exquisite detail. I started with the "save the cat," approach and that felt too rigid/overwhelming for me, personally. I like to give my characters some flexibility (probably too much, actually) to breathe and dictate things that make sense for them, and I felt like in doing the "save the cat," method I had to account for every possible detail upfront. Whereas with the "9-step plot dot," I just had to focus on their motivations, and the setting where these thoughts/feelings unfolded are still open to various scenarios/interpretations. Plus, I am doing dual POV with this story. So yeah, that would've been really intense/difficult to try and account for everything both my main characters are doing. This way, I feel like I have a basic roadmap to guide me and I can still surprise myself with a few turns along the way.

Anyway, I'm going to keep my plot outline to myself for now, especially since I plan on posting this on the archives. But I just wanted to say that I am really glad that this plot planning resource was brought to my attention (like yeah, I get NaNo emails, but I get too many emails so a lot of them are just generally overlooked). I felt like this was really beneficial and I want to thank the staffers for putting this prep-NaNo thing together!

Courtney

[inmyownlittlecorner]

I got 29% 9-step plot dot, 24% Save the Cat Beat Sheet, 19% Plot Roller Coaster, and 19% 27 Chapter Outline thing. Tbh, the 9-step plot dot and the Save the Cat Beat Sheet is too much for my burnt-out brain, so I spent a little time with the Plot Roller Coaster. I liked how it helped me get my head around one of my MC's character arc. I might go through and take my other MCs through the process just so I feel more on the right page with them.