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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Dec 09, 2022

Book Writing Templates: A Writer’s Secret Weapon [Download]

No matter what level of experience you have as an author, you can always use a little help to get your manuscript off the ground. Book writing templates are tools that authors can leverage to fuel their progress: from brainstorming characters, to worldbuilding, to structuring a story, templates can help you make sure you start off on the right foot. 

The goal of using a template is not to make cookie-cutter novels, but rather to better shape your book idea into a unique story. If you’re keen to receive a little help, here are 10 different types of book writing templates you can use to sketch out your stories.

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Download: Reedsy's top writing templates

Sign up below to receive all ten book writing templates featured in this post (or continue reading to download individual templates).

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The Top 10 Book Writing Templates

Use these to develop your characters, outline your plot, and write your book.

Or if you'd like to build your story directly in a writing app, we recommend using the free Reedsy Book Editor. Simply create your account with one click below and start outlining with the pre-made story templates — right away!  

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The Reedsy Book Editor

Use the Boards feature to plan, organize, or research anything.

Developing an idea

The most fundamental type of book template concerns concept development. Think of book ideas as seeds: not all of them have the potential to become a great big oak — but some do. 

1. Book Development Template

To help you determine if your idea is 'fertile' enough, we've made a book development template designed to test the waters.

Our seven-part book development template will guide you step-by-step in nailing down your protagonist, supporting characters, antagonists, as well as your worldbuilding and plot structure. If that wasn’t enough, it will also help you pick your voice and perspective .

In other words, it will help you germinate that idea into a sapling that will eventually become your first draft. To download this specific template, insert your email below — or sign up above to receive all templates.

FREE RESOURCE

Get our Book Development Template

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

Structuring your narrative

Once you have a great story idea, you need to actually put it down on paper (or in a book editor , but paper sounds better, doesn’t it?). Many authors write when  inspiration strikes, following their intuition for chapters on end without a plan. While this approach might be powerful to get things going, it can be useful to think about how you'll structure your story early on in the writing process to avoid running into plot holes and writing yourself into a corner.  

Luckily, in literature there are a few common story structures every author can refer to when plotting, starting with the most popular of them all 一 the Three-Act structure. 

2. Three-Act Structure Template

Originally defined by Aristotle two thousands years ago, the Three-Act structure divides a story in a beginning, middle, and end . This method is one of the most commonly used when plotting novels, as it provides a basic skeleton for your story that ensures all your plot points are in place, building tension and stakes until the climax and resolution.

To download this specific template, insert your email below — or sign up above to receive all templates.

Free Download: Three-Act Structure Template

Effortlessly plot your story with our customizable template. Enter your email, and we'll send it to you right away.

By dissecting the story in three parts of equal importance, you’ll be able to create a strong narrative that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. You can print out the template or edit it online 一 for each section you’ll be asked to write a synopsis of what happens in the story, and a specific example of it. 

3. Hero’s Journey Template

Another, more hands-on take on the Three-Act structure is the Hero’s Journey, which focuses on the transformation of a single protagonist . Divided in twelve distinct phases, it helps you deconstruct your protagonist's journey, from the initial call to adventure to the return home as a changed person.   

Our template will help you write down a short synopsis about important story elements, such as: 

• The ordinary world where it all starts;
• The call to adventure and refusal of it;
• Mentors, enemies, and allies on the hero’s journey;
• The moments of greatest fear and reward;
• The lesson to bring home, and more.

These timeless elements have been used in countless stories, from Biblical tales to Star Wars , and will give you creative freedom while ensuring your narrative stays on track. To download this specific template, insert your email below — or sign up above to receive all templates.

Free Download: Hero's Journey Template

4. save the cat beat sheet.

If you have trouble figuring out your list of scenes, you can get more granular with the Save the Cat template , which tells you exactly what should happen on what page. Originally developed for screenwriters, it has been widely adopted by novelists to plan their stories with theme, character development, and pacing in mind.

The Save the Cat template builds upon the classic Three-Act structure, but further dividing a story into 15 beats that tell you when the inciting accident, subplots, and other key elements should happen. In our template, you can simply enter your target word count and it'll tell you exactly when and for how long each beat should last, so that your story doesn't lag in places where it should be motoring along.

Free Download: The Beat Sheet template

You’ll get it in your email inbox right afterward.

Outlining your story

Once you have defined your larger story structure and developed your idea, you can use a book template to go in scene by scene and keep track of the main plot and subplots, and how they fit into your book’s overall timeline.

5. Book Outline Template

Save it in your Google Sheets, edit it, move scenes around, and tweak it until you’re satisfied with the narrative flow.   

Depending on your preference, our book outline templates includes three exercises that can help you create:

• A basic story outline that includes all of the main variables;
• A plot-driven outline that tracks your main plots and subplots by chapter; and
• A simple scene list that defines each scene's purpose in the story arc.

Free Download: Book Outline template

You'll get it in your email inbox right afterward.

Building the world of your book

Apart from large-picture templates, some templates can help with specific aspects of your stories, like creating a fictional world from scratch 一 from your world’s history, to geography, to technology and more. 

6. Worldbuilding Template

If you’re a fantasy or sci-fi writer, or you simply want to go deep with your creating your story's world , use our 7-part template to establish aspects such as: 

• Name and location;
• People and language;
• Social systems (religion, history, etc.);
• Technology and magic; and
• Economy and politics.

If you struggle to piece together all of your world’s features, this template is for you 一 print it out and spend some time with it. This will help you map the environment to the point where it feels like a real place, and you can better communicate it to your readers. To download this specific template, insert your email below — or sign up above to receive all templates.

The Ultimate Worldbuilding Template

130 questions to help create a world readers want to visit again and again.

Creating compelling characters

Since characters are the heart of any story, it’s important to sculpt them to the smallest detail. To help you create remarkable characters, we made two separate templates: one to thoroughly define who they are, and one to test their boundaries in hypothetical scenarios. 

7. Character Profile Template

Similarly to building a world from scratch, developing an identity is not an easy task. After all, think about yourself: how long did it take you to become the person you are today? As many years as you’re old. So, how do you replicate that same process not just for one, but multiple protagonists 一 so that they feel like someone you could bump into in real life? Well, you can start by creating a detailed profile. 

For each major character in your novel, you can print and fill out our character profile template. It will guide you step-by-step in detailing your character’s features, such as: 

• Basic information (i.e. age, occupation);
• Physical appearance;
• Personal relationships;
• Family history;
• Major life events;
• Psychological traits; and 
• Their hopes and dreams. 

The template may start with superficial traits such as appearances, but then it urges you to also look beneath the skin. So, take the time to ponder over each of the sections to give yourself the chance to create truly compelling characters that readers will resonate with. 

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

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

8. Character Questionnaire 

Reedsy’s Character Questionnaire

40 questions to help you develop memorable characters.

Formatting your manuscript to professional standards

Not all book templates concern the writing aspect of authorship. Some are just useful to format your manuscript in a way that adheres to industry standards before you send out your query letters. 

9. Manuscript Format Template

While content matters more than how it’s presented, publishing professionals still expect you to present a professionally formatted manuscript. To help you not stand out for the wrong reason, you can use Reedsy’s manuscript format template. 

You just need to download a copy and edit it, either by writing directly in it, or copy-pasting (without formatting) the content of your novel.  Again, if you want to download this specific template, insert your email below — or sign up above to receive all templates. 

Alternatively, you could format your manuscript with one of the three free book templates available in the Reedsy Book Editor .

Manuscript Format Template

Get your manuscript ready for submission to agents and publishers.

10. Children's Book Manuscript Template

If you’re writing a children’s book, there are slightly different formatting rules you need to be aware of 一 for example if you’re writing in verse or adding illustration notes. Whether you’re submitting to traditional publishers or publishing independently , you can use our template to get professional results. Again, you’ll just need to download a copy and edit it without changing the formatting. 

Free Download: Children's Book Manuscript Template

Enter your email address and get your copy right away.

We hope that these templates will help you quickly test your story idea, and develop it into a solid draft. They'll hopefully serve as the framework for your wild imagination. It’s time to get writing .

Continue reading

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• TemplateLab
• Art & Media

Story Outline Templates

46 best story outline templates (novel, book & plot).

Writing stories can sound so easy but it takes a lot of imagination, talent and a mastery of the language to make everything work. Even with all the literature available online and in libraries, there are no definite instruction manual or formula for creating a good piece of work. One important thing though, is to know how to give your storyline a smooth flow. The best way to do this is through a story outline template.

Table of Contents

• 1 Story Outline Templates
• 2 Why do you need a story outline template?
• 3 Novel Outline Templates
• 4 Types of stories
• 5 Book Outline Templates
• 6 Types of story outline templates
• 7 Plot Outline Templates
• 8 How to outline a novel?
• 9 Plot Outlines
• 10 How to write a story outline for short stories?

Why do you need a story outline template?

One of the most difficult challenges when writing a story is how to begin it. Often, you would find yourself staring at a blank page not knowing how to start. One great way to overcome this obstacle is by creating a story outline template to serve as your guide.

Many bestselling writers have succeeded in their endeavors by following this simple rule: creating a story or novel outline template. The outline is the framework of the story and this makes it easier for you to start – and continue – writing. You can either develop your story’s plot outline by yourself or you can download a story plot outline template to make the task easier. Investing time in making a novel outline template gives you better foresight of the novel you plan to write.

Novel Outline Templates

Types of stories

Although all stories come from unique ideas, most of them tend to follow a certain plot outline. Since the past stories have fallen into seven types. These form the archetypes that have grabbed the attention of readers through the years. Today, these stories may appear as marketing pieces like single TV spots or become part of a bigger narrative that tells the story of a company.

The stories you tell, no matter what type or what story or book outline template you use, send a clear message to your readers whether you have carefully crafted the story or not. Here are the story types you may consider if you plan to write your own tale:

• A voyage and a return This is almost similar to the previous type except for “The Return” part. A very notable example of this type of story which applies in a modern setting is Howard Schulz’s return to head the Starbucks empire after a long hiatus. When the brand comes back to its prior ways of business, it takes part in a “Voyage” and “Return” storyline.
• Comedy Comedy can be effectively used to engage and entertain your readers. If you want to make others laugh, you can create a plot outline template that’s all about comedic events or one that focuses on a funny character.
• Going on a quest There are many of these narratives with their main theme being that the journey is worth much more than its destination. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit, and even The Catcher in the Rye are some of the best examples.
• Overcoming the enemy The best example of this kind of story is David and Goliath. This story has a basic narrative about a plucky underdog who bucks the status quo despite odds that seem insurmountable. A more modern example is Erin Brockovich and several other movies you have probably seen already.
• Rags to riches This type of story is the best in developing a character’s reputation. It often makes use of the vulnerability that’s inherent in the story and makes a formidable person appear to be more approachable, friendly, and open.
• Rebirth Often, things can inevitably go wrong. You can use a story of rebirth to inspire others to keep going despite such challenges. Its combination of success and vulnerability could become one powerful package for your readers.
• Tragedy Challenging as it is to write a tragedy, it’s one of the most popular types of stories out there. Emotional connections are always important and for some people, they love reading about these connections. The use of tragic stories can help deeply engage readers and keep them coming back for more.

Book Outline Templates

Types of story outline templates

As mentioned, there is no one formula for a story outline template. Think of a room that is all messed up. Different people could organize the room in as many different ways. So if you think you’re having trouble outlining your story, you might just be in a classic case of fitting a square peg in a round hole.

Remember that every writer has their storyline and for you, it’s just a question of finding the right one that would fit your mindset, writing style, and personality. Here are a few suggestions for story or novel outline templates you can create:

• Beat Sheets These document the beats of the story in shorthand and are usually presented in bullets or numbers.
• Characters First For this, you would create an outline of your story’s lead characters. It should prioritize character development, character beats, and character arcs over creating the plot outline.
• Mind Map This is the visual approach that you can use in outlining that defines spatial relationships between your themes, plot points, chapters, characters, conflicts, and so on.
• Scenes and Sequences Here, you should create a detailing of all sequences and scenes which you consider are the major parts of the story.
• Synopsis The synopsis offers an overview of the story’s plot, the conflicts, characters, and overall theme. You would write everything down in about 2 to 3 pages.
• The Skeleton This is almost like a book outline template but it concentrates more on the most important plot points. You can compare it to a road mark where only the most significant destinations have red markings. How to get to the destination will be your call.

Plot Outline Templates

How to outline a novel?

A novel outline template is almost like the framework of a novel. It is a document that includes important information about the novel’s structure, characters, plot, and more. This document’s length can vary from 1-page to a comprehensive visual mind map that includes diagrams to show the connections between ideas and information.

If you have spare space in your work area, you can use index cards then post these on the wall. This makes it easier for you to see and modify the parts of your story outline template. Each of the events should just be one sentence. You can make an outline of your story or novel using these methods:

• Bookend Method This method is perfect for you if you prefer leaving some things to chance. Basically, the idea here is to plot the novel’s start and beginning along with its characters. The method is highly recommended if you already have a solid grasp of the story you want to tell and its characters.
• In-Depth Outline This one is a more detailed outline that provides chapter summaries where you outline the different scenes within them. Being more comprehensive in scope, it takes more time to write this. Many writers prefer this outline because it helps them stay on track. Some in-depth outlines are almost like novelettes in length containing about 10,000 words. As for the physical length, it may involve several pages of handwritten notes with the plot written in columns to represent the novel’s timeline and the tracking every scene, main plot, subplots, characters, and more.
• Snowflake Method Randy Ingermanson, a writing instructor and author, created this method of making story outlines. It all starts with a single-sentence summary of your story. In this method, you have to build the sentence into a paragraph. Then you would build on that paragraph to create character descriptions. From there, you create storylines involving those characters. The process spins outwards until you form a fully-outlined novel.
• Synopsis Outline This document, which usually is about 1 -2 pages short, provides an initial idea of the novel’s structure, but still leaves space for flexibility. As the name implies, it’s a synopsis or summary, pinpointing all the main events of your story.

Plot Outlines

How to write a story outline for short stories?

You can best learn the art of writing stories by first writing short stories as it’s the best way to discover what your weaknesses and strengths are. These involve fewer words and there’s less pressure compared to when you need to write a novel.

As a new writer, you can further develop your skills by entering short story competitions. Such competitions can train you in terms of meeting deadlines and giving you potential platforms for your work. Short stories have short-term goals and can be great motivators for you as a writer. Following are the steps to help you create a short story outline template:

• Choose the protagonist of your story This, of course, is the story’s main character on which all of the interesting stuff in the story happens.
• Decide on the setting This is the place where your story occurs. There can be more than a single setting for your story.
• Decide on a problem to solve or a goal to achieve This is what motivates the protagonist. You need to think of the conflicts that make your story more interesting.

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24 FREE Story Outline Templates and Examples (Novel, Book, Plot)

Writing a story people want to read involves more than just sitting at your desk and putting pen to paper. It requires a lot of imagination, great organization skills, and a mastery of the language to bring all the elements together. Since there is no set-in-stone formula to help you achieve such flow, most writers turn to the Story Outline Template.

Story outlining – like writing itself – is a skill that you get better at over time. In this article, we look at story outlines, how to create and use them, and some approaches you can adapt to your work.

What Is a Story Outline?

A story outline is a simple overview of the events in a story, prepared before completing the actual final draft. You can use it when writing a short story or novel to outline your ideas, so you have somewhere to refer to during the writing process. Essentially, this simple document forms the bridge between your ideas and a readable piece of fiction writing.

What Is a Story Outline Template?

A story outline template is a model chart that helps you map out the scenes, plotline, characters, and ideas of your story, forming them into a coherent outline. It is designed to help you capture plot points and ideas, so you know how to start, continue, and end your fiction piece.

Essential Elements of a Story Outline Template

Most fiction stories follow the same plot structure, even when the stories and outcomes differ. Similarly, all story outlines consist of similar elements, which include:

• Premise: This section identifies the characters, location, and circumstances of the story. They tell the reader what they need to know before they delve into the plot.
• Plot: This refers to the sequence of events in your story and how they progress to accomplish your goal. It usually begins with an inciting incident, followed by rising action, climax, falling action, and finally, resolution.
• Character: These are the people, things, or players that advance your story. If you are writing in the first person, characters become a central part of your story as they dictate the point of view.
• Prose: This refers to your word and sentence structure choices.
• Theme: The theme is what you want the reader to take away from the story.

How to Write a Good Story Outline (Step-by-Step)

The primary purpose of using a Story Outline Template is to transform your idea into a complete product. You essentially begin with a skeleton list of plot points then flesh them out by expanding the components into readable work. Here is a guide to help you achieve this:

Step 1: Write a Premise

The premise of your story is a short summary – 1 to 3 sentences long – explaining what will happen in the story. It should identify the location, characters, and conflict. Additionally, it should mention what makes your story worth reading.

Step 2: Introduce the Characters

Once you have a summary, identify the characters in your story. What do they wear? Where are they from? What are their beliefs, and how will their personalities respond to the conflict?

Step 3: Flesh Out the Scenes

Next, describe the location and setting of your story. You want to be as detailed as possible, describing the roads, trees, animals, sky, etc. You also want to capture how the characters respond to the setting.

Step 4: Write Your Outline

With the character, premise, and setting in mind, organize all this information into a linear summary. Let’s review how to do this in the next section.

Story Outline Templates

Story outline examples are sample pieces that organize characters, scenes, ideas, and themes to create a summary outline for short stories and novels.

Novel Outline Templates

Novel outline templates are customizable model charts from which you can arrange the possible events of a story to create a linear guide.

Book Outline Templates

Book outline templates are customizable documents you can use to capture the structure of each chapter in a book you are writing.

Plot Outline Templates

A plot outline template is a model summary of the suggested events in a book, novel, short story, or screenplay. It is shorter than a step outline but longer than a standard synopsis.

Approaches to Writing a Story Outline

Story outlines can bear some similar elements, but they will never be exactly the same. The following four approaches to preparing an outline are suggestions, and you can play around with each or combine one or two until you find a strategy that works for you.

Plot-Based Approach

This is the most common outlining strategy. It involves creating a numbered or bulleted list of your main plot points, that is, the main events of the story. Once you have your list, you can fill it in with an information letter so that your story is always built around the main plot.

Themes-Based Approach

This approach focuses on the themes and ideas of the story and is an excellent choice if you already know what you want your readers to take away from the story. All you need to do is list down your main themes chronologically, e.g., despair, love, hope, conflict, death, etc.

Scene-Based Approach

This approach follows the plot-based outline strategy but focuses on the setting and scenes. It is a great choice for short story writers where the story’s central element is the setting.

Freytag’s Pyramid

Freytag’s Pyramid approach helps you create a basic story structure that isn’t too detailed; it affects your creativity. The basic elements of Freytag’s pyramid are:

• Inciting incident:
• Rising Action
• Falling Action

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you outline your story.

Outlining your story helps ensure you don’t go off topic when writing, ultimately improving your timing. That said while outlining has immense benefits on the outcome of your writing experience, it is generally up to you whether you wish to do it or not.

Does Stephen King use an outline?

No. Stephen King does not outline the plotlines in his books. He once called outlining a ‘last resort for bad fiction writers.’ However, every writer’s process is different.

What is a short outline?

A short story outline is a simple visual representation of the storylines, character arcs, themes, and flow of a short story.

Using a Story Outline Template is an excellent way to ensure the smooth transition of your story from an idea to a complete piece. It can help jumpstart you when you get stuck on a plotline by highlighting the themes, arcs, and characters you plan to focus on in your work. While some people feel like outlines stifle creativity, they can actually increase your productivity and help you stay on track.

How did our templates helped you today?

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Thank you for your feedback.

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. 

When You Write

How to Outline a Short Story [Template Included]

When most people decide to write a short story, they usually assume that it’s going to be duck soup.

They just grab a pen and paper or their laptop and get straight to it. 

No outline. No sketch. Nothing!

If you’re “most people,” you probably have a lot of unfinished short stories that you abandoned after getting completely stuck halfway.

Or you’re just an aspiring author who’s got no idea that an outline is like a treasure map that can lead you to that great short literary piece.

Why Should You Outline a Short Story?

Clichés, anyone? Alright, here we go!

“Failing to plan, is planning to?”

Outlining is both timesaving and enables you to have some sort of a road map—it gives you the freedom to unleash your artistic genius rather than focus on trivial crinkles of the story itself.

Although short story writing is narrower in terms of scope than a novel, it still includes many elements that wordsmiths input into a full-size novel.

It needs a multidimensional main character, a clear character arc, a comprehensive plot, and a gripping closing set of events. This somehow makes writing a short a bit laborious.

An outline can save a lot of the stress by helping you put together the jigsaw puzzle before the writing process really starts.

Outlining a short story

Key elements of a good short story outline.

As a writer’s roadmap, a short story outline is supposed to include details you can utilize to track character arcs, storylines, thematic content, and logical consistency.

Therefore, a good short story outline must address the following elements:

1. A Situation and Conflict: the state of affairs—the beginning of the story—that either changes for the better or takes a very bad turn (usually, it’s the latter). As the story progresses, it has to have a conflict. The conflict arises from the interaction between the protagonist (who has an objective) and the antagonist (who stands in the way of the protagonist and his objective).

2. The Solution to the Conflict: some creative writers like to start writing a story without knowing the ending themselves. Writing this way keeps the intrigue alive for the writer but having a predetermined solution to your story’s main conflict gives you a clear direction of the narrative.

3. Character Development: Characters are what bring the action in your story to life. When making notes for your story, make sure you define the protagonist and antagonist and give them more dimensions. Add backstories to the characters too, even though some of the backstories won’t make it to the final draft of the story—due to the limited scope of a short story.

4. Other Critical Points : The conflict and the solution that I have covered in (1) and (2) are some of the critical plot points that an outline has to cover. A story starts from an exposition; then the conflict arises; there’s rising action; then comes the climax; after that, is the falling action; and finally, the resolution concludes the tale.

The Short Story Outlining Process: Tips and Template

Now that we’ve seen some of the key elements of a short story, let’s take a look at the actual short story outlining process.

The process always starts with crafting your story’s premise and going all the way through to a full list of scenes.

One thing you ought to know about outlining methods is that there is no objectively correct or incorrect way of doing things. Most writers that I have encountered have personalized their outlining methods to a format that works for them.

If by chance this technique fails to do the job for you, you can adjust the process and find a method that works for you.

Having gotten that out of the way, let’s take a look at the outlining method that has worked for me and a couple of other writers in my writing circles, starting with tips on how you can approach the outlining process to churn out top-notch outlines.

1. Start Simplistic

To give your short story outline a good structure, you have to start from the bones.

You can utilize a technique called the Snowflake Method. Using this method of writing, a wordsmith begins with a simplistic deep theme and gradually adds meat to the story, making it more complex over time.

What you actually do is begin with an arrow-shaped idea and build on it afterwards. It’s exactly like what I said, start from the bones and add meat until the sentence becomes a matured story.

2.Create a Quasi Outline

This quasi outline is like a draft outline—a freestyled guideline for the final outline. When you write this draft, focus on the general ideas and major plotline events: the inciting action, the climax, the resolution.

You may leave holes whilst you write the quasi outline. You’ll patch them later; for now, focus on completing the panoramic view of the whole of your short fiction.

3. Use Unpredictability and Conflict to Spice Up the Plot

If a reader is able to predict—more than once—a set of events before they happen, they’re likely going to be discouraged from reading your story any further.

A good story uses unanticipated twists and conflict to sustain the much-needed tension.

This technique is effective in every genre, whether it’s romance (break someone’s heart unexpectedly) or horror (slash a baby’s throat, out of the blue).

4. Utilize the Protagonist’s Internal Monologue

One of the attributes of a good story is its ability to suck the reader into its world or settings.

One way of achieving this is the main character’s thoughts and mumblings to make the reader understand the protagonist’s mind and empathize with them.

Craft natural persona, needs, and character arc to absorb the reader slowly. Of course, this is harder to achieve with the limited scope of a short story but, that’s why the outline is indispensable.

5. Use Software to Outline Your Story

Regular word processing software—MS Word and co.—come with features that writers can utilize to outline a short story or larger types of prose.

However, there is sophisticated and dedicated software that has been designed to help you build a clean and comprehensible outline.

One such software that I would recommend is Plottr —an easy-to-use visual outlining and book planning tool. With this software, you can take your story from a simple synopsis to a book series.

Once you start “creating a book,” you can create a timeline, a list of characters and character arcs, plots and subplots, construct chapters, and put scenes inside the chapters (tuck characters and locations in the scene cards), et cetera.

Software like Plottr are time savers and make the entire outlining process smoother. Authors have been using these tools for short stories and larger texts like Novels (which—I think—is the type of prose that people mostly associate the tools with).

Story Outline Template

Once more, I would like to stress that you can write your outline whichever way you deem suitable.

But if you are not sure about it, I have made a condensed and downloadable template for you. Download it here or just study the thorough step-by-step outline method below.

Feel free to add extra elements to the ones that I have come up with.

Step 1. Create the Premise: A premise is basically the idea from which your story springs. Make sure that your premise is well defined and more than the basic idea; add condiments to the idea to make it provide a satisfying story guidance.

Your outline needs to be introduced by a condensed but creamy premise sentence that carries insights into the following things:

Step 2. Describe Setting: in this part, describe the environment within which your story takes place. Before writing a complete outline, you need to have a firm idea of where your story is taking place.

Is it happening in a mars-bound spaceship? Is the story about a kid in the projects? Perhaps the setting is an apartment complex in the Cayman Islands?

In a play or a movie, I think they call this a mises en scène. It covers things like:

ü  Place/Location

ü  Atmosphere/aura/mood

Step 3. Come up with the Main Character: Who is the protagonist? Come up with the persona that is going to be your main character. You can also—optionally—decide on the antagonist. Since the antagonist is antipathetic to the MCs’ objectives, they’re easy to come up with if you’ve already created the MC—a writer just needs to feed off the polarity between the personas to create the adversary.

Cover all these questions (maybe more), then condense them into one or two sentences that unwraps the core of the whole story.

Step 4. Objective, conflict, and resolution: this part is where the story is given the meat—it’s where you develop the story. There are a couple of questions that your outline needs to answer in this sections, questions like:

i. What’s the protagonist’s goal or objective?

ii. What conflict arises as a result of the MCs’ quest to attain the goal?

iii. What scenarios and effects are going to get thrown in to tense up the conflict?

iv. What and how will the story’s climax be? Will the protagonist be successful? Will he fail to attain his goal?

v. How will the conflict end? What will the resolution be?

Step 5. Character Development: lastly, give each important character in your story a life. The next step involves bringing some of the characters to life—i.e., developing the protagonist’s persona, needs, and character arc.

There are crucial details that need to be added to your characters, whether or not they appear in the story. 

To do this, you need to ask yourself some questions or immerse yourself in the story and interview the characters.  

What led to the character’s current situation? What events happened in their past, and how can it affect the way they resolve the conflict? What other unsolved issues could affect the protagonist’s objective and conflict resolution?

You have to dig deep, where and how is a matter of personal preference.

You may choose to use a pre-set list of questions shared by numerous published authors, or you may tweak some details and ask your protagonist a series of questions to find out the heart and soul of your character.

Step 6. Sketch the Plotline and fill it with Scenes: With the premise polished up, you can now set about to develop your ideas for this story.

Before outlining, you usually have sketchy ideas about the story. Write down all those sketchy ideas you have about your story.

What you want to do is record all the details so that you don’t forget anything. Add even the scenes that you are not sure about. Most of the time, things just fall in place—organically—once the story starts going.

This is the part of your creative process that involves a ‘no holds barred’ mentality. During this writing stage, you must focus on emptying your ideas and letting your thoughts out without sweating about any of the tenets of the Queen’s language— punctuation, grammar, or spelling. You need to keep plucking your most creative ideas and thoughts and adding depth to your story’s potential.

One thing that sets a good storyline apart from the basic ones is unpredictability. If you think a scene feels too familiar or predictable for readers, reconstruct it or throw it away altogether.

How to Start a Short Story?

Of course, I’m not going to ramble about the whole process of writing a short story, but the least I can do is to give you some insights on how to start a captivating short story.

You might be saying to yourself, “Yeah, I know how to outline a short story, right? But how do I start writing a scintillating story?”

The secret formula involves getting the reader’s attention quicker they expect and getting them settling into the story as it unfolds in its infancy.

To drive the point home, I’m going to borrow some of Anthony Ehler’s tips on how to start a short story:

Start as close to the action as possible . On this method, Ehler uses F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, Three Hours Between Planes, to demonstrate how the author scrapped the man’s arrival into his old town and immediately placed the man in a phone, looking up his old sweetheart’s number.

Set the tone of the story . For example, Ehler uses Ian Rankin’s spine-chilling crime story, Someone Got to Eddie , to demonstrate how a good short story starts—Rankin used a fictional character’s sequence of thoughts to instantly and crisply speak to the reader. With a well-constructed interior monologue, a good start immediately absorbs the reader into the main character’s mind.

Focus on your main character . Lastly, he uses Gina Berriault’s story, The Stone Boy , to back his point: a good story should immediately move the reader to identify with the main character. This makes the reader crave more and anticipate the story’s next event and twist—the reader plunks for the main character and is keen to see what will happen to the mc.

In Conclusion…

So, you’ve written your story, and you’re all set to start writing a future classic; always remember the golden rule of writing fiction—show, don’t tell.

The best part about outlining is that you won’t have to submit it to anyone. It’s for your own convenience.

That’s the easy part.

The hard part’s writing the story. When you start writing the story, you’ve got to put yourself in the reader’s mind and see if it sounds exciting or if it’s natural and convincing.

“If you think it’s boring, it probably is.”

Recommended Reading...

What is a premise in writing why should you write it first, how to write a good climax (narrative) – professional tips, how does the setting contribute to the story, what is a love square.

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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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Home » 12 Best Novel Outline Templates to Structure Your Story

12 Best Novel Outline Templates to Structure Your Story

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Table of contents.

Are you ready to overcome writer’s block with a book outline template?

Let me preface this by saying that while this article is about book outline templates, it’s not a “this is how we do it” article. Not everyone needs a novel outline template for their book road map, but they do help.

Like books, authors and their writing styles are unique and numerous. Even basic things like the programs we use to write in can be diverse. Many prefer to write using a word processor, whether paid or free. Others prefer to use something like Scrivener or Squibler.

Having said that, many new writers are overwhelmed by the writing process and aren’t sure how to write a book. For that reason, templates can help them get started. Even seasoned authors can find templates helpful, too.

Some simply prefer to write from an outline .

Benefits of Using a Novel Outline Template

Despite your writing style and whether or not you’re an author who typically relies on a book outline template, it’s probably safe to say there are times you might wish you had one. Maybe.

I should note there are a few definitive cases for having at least a loose outline of your book. Even those who hate to outline will agree to this.

• Keeps Your Plot Outline Fresh in Mind

There are times you start a book and for some reason, you put it aside. Maybe you have another story burning to be told. Maybe you had to deal with sickness, your own or a loved one’s. Your mind map of your book disappear, and you feel the need to start fresh.

Assuming you don’t have total recall, after months—or perhaps years—do you remember your story? It’s plot and all its details? Or have you completely lost its thread? If you have an outline, it doesn’t matter what you’ve forgotten.

• It Can Aid in Writing a Synopsis

Perhaps you’re intent on having your books traditionally published. If so, agents and publishers will often request a synopsis of your book.

Imagine this. The publisher you’re interested in requires a query letter, three chapters, and a synopsis. I know several authors, myself included at times, who would only have those first three chapters written.

Back when I started writing—this hasn’t changed, by the way—you could wait for months to hear back from a given publisher and depending on how quickly you wrote that was plenty of time to finish the book. Or at least motivate you to write faster. But you had to write your synopsis first.

That’s much easier to do if you have a detailed outline in place already.

• It Can Help you Ease into Writing in a New Genre

Templates and outlines might be especially useful to writers new to a genre. Some genres have very specific structures and arcs that need to be developed and followed. For example, if you’re thinking about writing a romance novel you need to meet reader expectations. An outline could help you meet them.

Let’s recap some reasons why templates or outlines may be good for some:

• Some writers, new or seasoned, are lost without one.
• If you have to leave off writing your book, you can come back to it any time.
• It’s much easier to write a synopsis when you already have an outline.
• If you’re new to a genre, an outline could be very helpful.

Which Novel Outline Template is the Right One for You?

The following is by no means a comprehensive list, but I’ve culled a fair selection. So no matter what you write, from academic treatises to screenplays, there should be something for you.

Also, note that book outlines are known by different names. Depending on the genre, they might be called beat sheets or something else, but they all serve the same purpose.

Since I’ve mentioned romance, let’s start there.

1. Squibler – Romancing the Beat Template

What makes a romance novel a romance novel? Just a bunch of lovey-dovey stuff, right? A couple makes eye contact, they fall in love, the end.

There is a very specific romantic arc that needs to be followed for a book to be a true romance novel.  And the overall plot or arc of the story needs to be wound around the romantic arc.

Sound confusing?

That’s why using a romance beat sheet is so popular.

From the introduction of your main characters, through the meet cute—when and where they first connect—to all the reasons why they shouldn’t and couldn’t fall in love. To the maybe this could work, the this will never work, and finally happily ever after.

And that wasn’t all the points in the arc that need to be addressed.

The beats are broken out and provide you with sections like:

• Adhesion of the plot thrust
• Deepening desire

Since this is a romance, you know it doesn’t end with a breakup.

If you’re new to writing romance, you may have an easier time at it when using a novel outline. Specifically, a romance novel outline.

If Scrivener isn’t your thing, Gwen does offer an outline in PDF format for anyone who joins her mailing list.

Regardless of format, this outline is based on Gwen’s book of the same name.

Key takeaways:

• Romance writers must follow a specific arc—a template will provide that.
• For those who don’t use Scrivener, a PDF is available if you sign up for Gwen’s mailing list.
• The template is based on Gwen’s book of the same name.

2. Scrivener – Romance Template

The second book outline template on our list that focuses on romance is courtesy of Jami Gold .

While it will ultimately get you to the same place as Romancing the Beat above, these romance authors each approach things in their own unique way.

From a pure romance standpoint, Gwen’s outline might be easier for some to follow.

Remember the two arcs I mentioned above? The romantic arc and the story arc? Jami separates out the two arcs. From Martha Alderson’s The Plot Whisperer , she uses beats and terminology that play to the plot or story arc. They don’t deal with the character’s inner struggles and journey, which is central to a romance novel.

The advantage to you?

You can focus on the romance arc—the developing relationship between your main characters.

Some of the sections of the template are:

• Inciting incident
• The end of the beginning

If you don’t own or are still trying to learn how to use Scrivener , you can still follow Jami’s outline. She also has it available for free download in Excel format. Even better, it has the functionality to track your word count too.

If you’re still learning how to write a book and you’re contemplating writing romance, why not see what the Romance Writers of America has to say about the genre.

• Jami’s beat sheet—template—breaks apart the two arcs in a romance. The story arc and the romantic arc.
• If you don’t use Scrivener, Jami also has her template available in Excel format. It’s a free download, no signup necessary.
• If you’re new to the genre, check out RWA.

3. Scrivener – The Great American Novel Template

This is a Scrivener template created by Michael O’Bryan .

His stated purpose is to help with the writing process itself. Or at least give you a vehicle to help you get together everything you need in order to write your book.

He provides an Idea Creation section that has even more templates based on some of his favorite methods and formats, like the Snowflake Method or Truby’s Anatomy of Story .

The Great American Novel template provides lots of ways for organizing your writing project including folders and color coding.

You have folders for:

• Story Notes
• Story Elements
• Story Structure
• Story World
• Front Matter

He also includes what he calls an Obsolete Files folder, which I think is an excellent idea. This folder acts as a repository for ideas you may have had and discarded, revisions, drafts, and so forth. These are maintained on the off chance you may need or want to readdress them for some reason. Which you can’t do if you have deleted all these files.

• An excellent template for organizing and structuring your story.
• Folders for every component of your novel.
• A folder for obsolete files.

Have you started writing your own Great American Novel several times? Perhaps using this template would help you to finally finish it.

4. Squibler – The 30 Chapter Novel Template

This book template is courtesy of Damien Benoit-Ledoux .

This is a very clean, well laid out outline for a book. Each of the 30 chapters has a purpose, basically taking you by the hand and leading you through the creation of your masterpiece. At a very basic level, it can teach you how to write a novel.

You won’t be leading your readers in confusing circles.

To give you an idea, the outline starts off with the following chapters:

• Introduction of the MC – who, what, where and when
• I know what I want – the MC’s goals and dreams
• I’m getting what I want – the plan to obtain the above
• Inciting/life-changing incident – the plan is ruined
• I’m not getting what I want – why?
• Why did this happen – self-examination and a new plan

And continues on to chapter 30.

You will also find some of the typical ancillary templates and folders for things like character sketches, historical events, objects, and back matter.

For those without Scrivener, there is a Word document version of the template as well.

• A well laid out outline with supporting folders can help you learn how to write a book.
• MS Word version also available.
• Includes additional templates.

5. Scrivener – The Hero’s Journey

Got an epic story to tell?

This book outline template is based on Joseph Campbell’s theory that all stories are based on the foundation of a single story. This conclusion is reached due to an observation that there exists a common pattern in the narrative elements of nearly all great myths.

Mel Corbett wove that theory in with her own personal notes on The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler to give us the Hero’s Journey Scrivener template .

Using this template or outline will help you create and clarify conflict and enable you to keep your characters moving forward on pace.

You probably know this outline without even being aware of it. Many of today’s blockbusters are built on this plot pattern or outline.

To name a few you’re likely familiar with:

• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• The Lion King

You’ve heard of one or two of those, right?

The template takes you through 3 key stages:

• The Departure
• The Initiation

You also have folders for:

• Template based on The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler and Joseph Campbell’s theory.
• Will help you keep your story moving.
• Many great movies are built on the Hero’s Journey premise.

6. Scrivener – K.M. Weiland Template

An author of historical and speculative fiction, K.M. Weiland is also the author behind several books around the outline and structure of novels. The initial version of the book outline template that bears her name was created by one of her readers, one Stuart Norfolk. He based it on Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel.

Yes, she has provided a lot of info for any who are learning how to write a novel.

Jump ahead and K.M. has updated the template to include info from her book Creating Character Arcs and a folder system that she personally uses for keeping track of her notes.

This template provides you with some initial folders meant to help in the prep stage. Help on creating your outline, notes on character development, and catchall for all your worldbuilding details.

Then she provides you with the manuscript section. If you follow this, you are pretty much mirroring her footsteps as she builds her story. There’s even lots of color coding.

Use the color coding to aid you in keeping track of any foreshadowing setups and payoffs.

Here’s an example of the setup and payoff color coding:

• Setup: Foreshadowing, Hints (Yellow)
• Opportunity for Hints (Yellow)
• Misinformation (Magenta)
• Revealed Later (Light Blue)
• Setup That Must Be Fulfilled Later (Magenta)
• Payoff: New Info/Revelations That Turn the Plot (Green)
• Straightforward Facts That Don’t Turn the Plot (Magenta)
• Character Evolution Turning Point (Dark Blue)
• Based on Outlining Your Novel , Structuring Your Novel, and Creating Character Arcs.
• Folders for character development and worldbuilding.
• Some very useful color coding.

7. Squibler – Novel with 4 Parts

Did you even realize there was so much help available for those seeking to learn how to write a novel?

Courtesy of Tony McFadden , we have this Scrivener novel outline.

According to Tony, all good fiction—at least good fiction written in the last 100 years—follows a specific development arc broken down into four parts.

• Setup and hook
• First plot point

Let’s flesh those out a bit.

In part one, you have a goal. Sure you’re going to introduce your main character here, but you need to grab the attention of your readers and hold on to it. We’ve probably all read—or started to read—a book where an author failed to do that.

If you’re like me you have a huge TBR file, and you just move on to the next book. There isn’t enough time to read all the books we’d like to read, and if an author has lost you in the first chapter, that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the book.

Again, grab and hold the attention of your readers.

The first plot point is where our hero leaves behind the status quo and his quest—whatever it may be—begins.

At about half-way into the book, act two should begin. Our hero is now reacting to whatever brought about the change of status quo.

Finally, in act three our hero knows what’s necessary to succeed and overcomes all odds to do so.

Clearly, there’s a lot more involved than that. Why not check out the template?

• All good fiction follows a special developmental arc.
• Grabbing and holding the attention of your reader immediately is imperative.
• Guidelines are provided to indicate where your new stages should begin based on word count.

8. Scrivener – The Snowflake Method Template

As should be very clear by now, there are a number of methods and techniques floating around. Probably one of the most respected and well known is the Snowflake Method , inspired by Randy Ingermanson.

The concept behind the Snowflake Method is that great novels don’t just happen. They are based on sound planning and design.

The idea is you need to build upon an extremely simple theme and then layer on the complexities. It calls for some intense planning and research upfront.

Having said that, Randy freely admits that all authors are different and what works for him isn’t necessarily going to work for every other writer.

For those who would like to try this method, here’s a condensed version of the initial steps:

• Write a single, big picture sentence that summarizes your novel.
• Expand the sentence into a paragraph that includes the key plot points.
• Develop your characters.
• You now have the structure of your novel and will know if it works or not. If it does, continue to expand upon your sentence/paragraph outline.

Sound like something you would like to try? You can read Randy Ingermanson’s book of course, but you can also follow the book outline template based on his method.

• This method of outlining is one of the most popular today.
• Great novels are based on advanced design and planning.
• All writers are unique, so this won’t work for everyone.

9. Squibler – Thriller Template

This novel outline comes to you from writer Jennifer Mattern . A blogger and mystery writer, Jennifer writes both by means of an outline.

Her Murder Mystery Template provides you with all the necessary resources to plan, outline, and draft in a single file. If you also do any marketing for your book—and if you aren’t, you should be—there’s even a folder for promotional material.

• Promotional Material Folder
• Boilerplate
• Press Release

There’s a lot of research and planning to goes into a modern murder mystery, and there’s a spot within the template for nearly anything you could think of at this stage.

• Planning Folder

1.  One-paragraph Summary 2.  One-page Summary 3.  Subplot Summaries 4.  Suspect List 5.  Secrets and Lies 6.  Clues 7.  Red Herring

• Research Folder

1.  Murder Method 2.  Police Procedure & Forensics 3. Other Research Notes

But if you write murders mysteries—or read them—you know there’s still more involved, don’t you? It hasn’t been forgotten.

• Settings Folder

1.  Scene of the Crime

• Characters Folder

1.  Protagonist 2.  Antagonist 3.  Victim

There’s still more to this template, but for any who may be writing a mystery for the first time, or even if you’ve struggled with writing one in the past, this is an excellent template to follow. You’ll be sure to hit all the key plot points of a good mystery novel.

• Adding folders and sections for marketing and promotion is a unique plus.
• If I were writing a murder mystery novel for the first time, I would definitely use this template.
• This comprehensive template will insure you don’t miss any plot points.

10. Excel – The One Page Novel Outline Spreadsheet

We’re leaving Scrivener behind and moving on to other book writing templates and novel outline formats. This one is provided courtesy of Eva Deverell .  One of her favorite writers is Joseph Campbell, mentioned above, who theorizes that all great stories are based on the foundation of a single story.

So it’s not surprising she is also a proponent of outlining. And as she points out, even “pantsers” typically work from some kind of preconceived plot or outline. Scant or encyclopedic, all writers need to follow some type of story structure.

This template is based upon a video workshop that Ms. Deverell offers.

In this video, she covers the following and more:

• How to plot using one piece of paper—and just one side of it.
• She provides some info on archetypal plot structures.
• How to create a simple character arc.
• She identifies eight story stages and how they fit together.

Using the spreadsheet, you are taken through different stages and scenes. For example, some of the stages are:

The spreadsheet also gives you an idea of where you should be in terms of word count. The template is based on a 50K novel, but you could easily—depending on your math skills—adjust the final word count and where you should be at any given point.

Assuming your book was also 50K, when you reach the “Trigger” stage, you should be about 10K words in. This stage introduces a scene where your main character is involved in an incident that sets your story in motion.

• Even pantsers need to work from some kind of outline, no matter how brief.
• You are guided through the creation of an outline that would fit on a single sheet of paper.
• The spreadsheet provides the benefit of tracking where you are in terms of word count.

11. Scrivener – Blogging Template

This template is made available to us from Bryan Collins , a non-fiction writer who contributes to publications like Forbes .

Every writer isn’t a novelist. Especially in this content-driven world we now live in. We also have technical writers, case study writers, proposal writers and more.

Or perhaps as an author, you maintain a blog as well. Some offer priceless advice on how to become a better writer. For whatever reason you blog here’s an excellent template to use.

You do need to subscribe to Bryan’s mailing list to get his template, but in my opinion, it’s well worth it.

For all you bloggers out there, and especially those who have a busy blog you schedule for, you need to get this template.

I’m sure some of you are thinking a template for your blog is overkill, but here are a few ways it would be useful:

• You can manage all of your articles in one place.
• If you post to more than just your own blog, the included binder can be used as an editorial calendar, allowing you to quickly order and arrange your posts.
• For those who may often need to write with two separate Word documents open, the template also allows you to open your current work and research at the same time—the process is just easier.
• You can set word counts for each file.

The provided folders allow you to keep your workflow past and present neatly categorized.

• Archives – contains individual folders for each month of the year gone by.
• This Month’s Post’s folder, which includes the following:
• Bonding Post
• How to Post
• Future Blog Posts – individual folders for the months still to come.
• This template could be a huge asset to a busy blogger.
• An editorial calendar can help especially if you write for more than one blog.
• Complete organization for the entire year.

12. Scrivener – Screenplay Template

If you’re thinking of being the next George Lucas or James Cameron, you might want to consider using this screenplay template .

For those of you who already have Scrivener, you know this comes bundled with the software. For those who don’t maybe this will be some extra incentive to buy it.

It’s a fairly basic outline, but it has everything you need. However, some who actually write screenplays say it’s nothing to compare to using Final Draft, so you’ll need to draw your own conclusions.

I did find a last-minute bonus screenplay template though.

A Redditor has provided a Scrivener screenplay template that some are saying is much better than the one mentioned above.

You will need to be the judge of that yourself. You can download it using this link .

If you’re a beginner, this might be the one for you. It includes:

• Extra info about story structure
• Scene construction
• Template Sheets including:
• Character Sketches
• Setting Sketch

Do You Have to Use a Novel Outline Template?

At least that’s the short simple answer.

Should you use a book template or novel outline? That’s going to depend on the writer, especially when we’re talking about more of the complex outlines and templates.

But here’s the thing. Every writer should be writing from some form of an outline. For some, that could be a very brief outline consisting of nothing more than a handful of words.

Perhaps notes jotted down on things like the following:

• Physical features of your main characters
• Character traits of your hero
• Location and setting details (especially if you’re worldbuilding, but more on that in a bit)
• Motivations

Your brief outline may have more or less than that, it depends on you. And it depends on the feedback of your readers too.

Are your reviews complaining about major plot holes? Or in one chapter your character is a plump blonde but in the next a sleek brunette? Then you have some serious problems, and it really doesn’t matter what you think of your story.

Criticism can be hard to take, but constructive criticism is gold. Learn from your readers and your peers.

And start to use an outline or template. Who knows, you might decide you love it. Or you may just think this is all terrible writing advice. But at least give it a try.

A final note on things like worldbuilding.

Depending on what you write, it might be easier to get away without an outline or template. But the more complex your novel, the more detailed, the chances that you should be using an outline template increase significantly.

While the above list is long, it’s by no means comprehensive. And while most of these templates are for Scrivener, with some searching there are a lot more formats available. We also discuss some book outline templates I haven’t mentioned here in another post.

Happy writing!

Related Posts

Published in Book Writing

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

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Story Planner

Novel Plan Template

Organize your novel in one place

Starting a new novel can be an exciting but daunting experience. It's the beginning of the creative process—where your mind is overflowing with ideas, inspiration, and plans.

This template will help you organize everything in one place so you can begin writing with confidence. You'll brainstorm ideas, collect inspiration, research your topic, dream up unique characters and create an outline for your story. At the end you'll have a solid foundation and reference that will speed up the entire writing process.

This template is part of the Writers collection .

• Brainstorm ideas
• Collect inspiration
• Organize visually
• Share with others
• Gather feedback

How to use this template

Whether you’re writing a novel or a screenplay, follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of planning a novel in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.

1. Open the Novel Plan template

The Novel Plan template is the central hub for your project. It includes the key parts of your creative process: Your ideas, research, inspiration, outline and, character profiles. There are also checklists for your workflow so you have everything in one easy-to-access place.

Create a new board for your novel.

Create a new board

Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double-click to open it.

Choose the Novel Plan template.

Choose a template 

Each new board gives you the options to start with a beautiful template. Find the Photoshoot Plan template, then choose "Use this template".

2. Open the Research template

Whether you're writing a sci-fi thriller or historical fiction, research is a crucial step in the early writing process. It's a springboard for new ideas and can add substance and authenticity to your story. As author Robert McKee says "when you do enough research, the story almost writes itself. Lines of development spring loose and you'll have choices galore."

Open the  Research board in your Novel Plan.

Choose the Research template. 

Each new board gives you the option to start with a template. Find the Research template, then choose "Use this template".

3. Start your research

Wikipedia, blogs, and news websites are a goldmine for researchers. It's here you'll find historical events and records, data, and opinions about your topic. Video and movie clips can help you understand a mood or feeling in a way that words sometimes can't. Collect everything in your research board so you can reference it through the writing process. Learn more about collecting and organizing your research in our guide: How To Organize Research for a Novel .

Add a note to capture interesting facts.

Drag a note card onto your board

Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

Use the built-in image library.

Use the built-in image library

Search over 500,000 beautiful photos powered by Unsplash then drag images straight onto your board.

4. Open the Brainstorming template

You have an idea for a story. It's just a spark at the moment, but you can't stop thinking about it. Now is the time to harness your creative energy and turn your idea into something real. And brainstorming is the perfect technique for the job.

Brainstorming is a classic creative technique for generating new ideas quickly. You can use it to dream up new characters, settings, or even explore themes you want to include in your book.

Open the  Brainstorming board in your Novel Plan.

Choose the Brainstorming template.

Each new board gives you the option to start with a template. Find the Brainstorming template, then choose "Use this template".

5. Add as many ideas as you can

Start by writing the central concept for your story in the middle of the board. Next, spend 5 minutes adding ideas related to your concept.

Think about different parts of your story, locations, characters, or even the history of your topic. Explore every thread until you fill the board. Finish by sorting the best ideas into groups. This gives you a strong foundation for your novel. Master brainstorming with our step-by-step guide: How To Brainstorm Story Ideas .

Add a note for each idea.

Upload images from your computer.

Upload a file or document  

Click the "Upload file" button or just drag a file onto your board. You can add images, logos, documents, videos, audio and much more.

6. Open the moodboard template

During brainstorming, you imagined the different parts of your story. It's time to start collecting inspiration with a moodboard (or "inspiration" board). It's a technique used by designers, filmmakers, and photographers but works just as well for creative writing.

Moodboards can help you visualize any aspect of your project. You can use them to figure out how a character or location could look. Or they could be centered around the era or the emotion you want to capture. You can create a moodboard for each of these separately or mix them all into one board. There are no strict rules.

Open the  Moodboard  in your Novel Plan.

Choose the  Novel Moodboard  template.

Each new board gives you the options to start with a beautiful template. Find the Novel Moodboard template, then choose "Use this template".

7. Add inspiring images & references

Drag in images from your computer and drop them onto the image placeholders on your moodboard. Then, use the built-in image library to add inspirational references. Finally, move and crop your images to get the layout you need. Learn more about how moodboarding can enhance the writing process with our step-by-step guide: How To Make A Moodboard For A Novel .

Drag files from your computer.

Crop images.

Crop images

Double-click an image and press edit to crop or rotate it.

8. Open the Outline template

A novel outline is often described as a roadmap or blueprint for your story. It helps you see the big picture and plan the sequence of scenes, characters, and ideas that will become your novel. It's a simple, flexible technique to help all types of writers stay organized. Think of it as the modern, digital equivalent to the corkboard or wall of sticky notes, but much easier to manage.

Open the  Outline  in your Novel Plan.

Choose the Outline template.

Each new board gives you the option to start with a beautiful template. Find the Outline template, then choose "Use this template".

9. Map out the main plot points

Start by laying out the major scenes or events you know so far. These might be the key turning points, locations, or plot twists. Next, add a sentence or a short paragraph for each scene. Think about what's being communicated in this scene, the location, and the characters involved.

Finally, collect visual references that will help bring it to life. While imagery probably won't make an appearance in your novel, this is a great technique for kickstarting new ideas. Experiment by adding images or movie clips that relate to your scenes.

The are many different ways to outline your story. Find the approach that works best for you in our story outline template collection: Five visual templates for outlining your next novel

Add a note to describe the plot points.

Upload files from your computer.

10. Open the Character template

One of the most integral parts of any story is crafting relatable and vivid characters. As writer Ernest Hemingway said, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

The character profile is a popular technique for developing genuine personas for your story. It will help to shape a narrative as well as provide a handy reference point for their personality traits, backstory, goals, flaws, and challenges.

Open the  Character board in your Novel Plan.

Choose the Character Profile template.

Each new board gives you the option to start with a beautiful template. Find the Character Profile template, then choose "Use this template".

11. Craft your character

Just like people, characters are made up of their past experiences, goals, and aspirations. Craft a backstory to help make them more believable. Next, give them quirks and flaws. Your character should come from an authentic place. That means that the character probably has some contradictions that make them a little out of the ordinary. If a character is too simplistic, it can feel cliched.

Finally, find some visual references. Even if you're writing a novel, images and inspiration can help bring your character to life.

Add notes to describe your character.

Add reference images from the built-in library.

You're done!

Hopefully, this template has helped you stay organized while building a solid foundation for your novel. Remember, creativity and inspiration are constantly evolving so come back and add to it when inspiration strikes. If you're just starting a new story, use the Novel Plan template below to get set up in minutes.

Start planning your novel

Organize your ideas & planning in one place.

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The short story is a fiction writer’s laboratory: here is where you can experiment with characters, plots, and ideas without the heavy lifting of writing a novel. Learning how to write a short story is essential to mastering the art of storytelling . With far fewer words to worry about, storytellers can make many more mistakes—and strokes of genius!—through experimentation and the fun of fiction writing.

Nonetheless, the art of writing short stories is not easy to master. How do you tell a complete story in so few words? What does a story need to have in order to be successful? Whether you’re struggling with how to write a short story outline, or how to fully develop a character in so few words, this guide is your starting point.

Famous authors like Virginia Woolf, Haruki Murakami, and Agatha Christie have used the short story form to play with ideas before turning those stories into novels. Whether you want to master the elements of fiction, experiment with novel ideas, or simply have fun with storytelling, here’s everything you need on how to write a short story step by step.

How to Write a Short Story: Contents

The Core Elements of a Short Story

How to write a short story outline, how to write a short story step by step, how to write a short story: length and setting, how to write a short story: point of view, how to write a short story: protagonist, antagonist, motivation, how to write a short story: characters, how to write a short story: prose, how to write a short story: story structure, how to write a short story: capturing reader interest, where to read and submit short stories.

There’s no secret formula to writing a short story. However, a good short story will have most or all of the following elements:

• A protagonist with a certain desire or need. It is essential for the protagonist to want something they don’t have, otherwise they will not drive the story forward.
• A clear dilemma. We don’t need much backstory to see how the dilemma started; we’re primarily concerned with how the protagonist resolves it.
• A decision. What does the protagonist do to resolve their dilemma?
• A climax. In Freytag’s Pyramid , the climax of a story is when the tension reaches its peak, and the reader discovers the outcome of the protagonist’s decision(s).
• An outcome. How does the climax change the protagonist? Are they a different person? Do they have a different philosophy or outlook on life?

Of course, short stories also utilize the elements of fiction , such as a setting , plot , and point of view . It helps to study these elements and to understand their intricacies. But, when it comes to laying down the skeleton of a short story, the above elements are what you need to get started.

Note: a short story rarely, if ever, has subplots. The focus should be entirely on a single, central storyline. Subplots will either pull focus away from the main story, or else push the story into the territory of novellas and novels.

The shorter the story is, the fewer of these elements are essentials. If you’re interested in writing short-short stories, check out our guide on how to write flash fiction .

Some writers are “pantsers”—they “write by the seat of their pants,” making things up on the go with little more than an idea for a story. Other writers are “plotters,” meaning they decide the story’s structure in advance of writing it.

You don’t need a short story outline to write a good short story. But, if you’d like to give yourself some scaffolding before putting words on the page, this article answers the question of how to write a short story outline:

https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-story-outline

There are many ways to approach the short story craft, but this method is tried-and-tested for writers of all levels. Here’s how to write a short story step-by-step.

1. Start With an Idea

Often, generating an idea is the hardest part. You want to write, but what will you write about?

What’s more, it’s easy to start coming up with ideas and then dismissing them. You want to tell an authentic, original story, but everything you come up with has already been written, it seems.

Here are a few tips:

• Originality presents itself in your storytelling, not in your ideas. For example, the premise of both Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ostrovsky’s The Snow Maiden are very similar: two men and two women, in intertwining love triangles, sort out their feelings for each other amidst mischievous forest spirits, love potions, and friendship drama. The way each story is written makes them very distinct from one another, to the point where, unless it’s pointed out to you, you might not even notice the similarities.
• An idea is not a final draft. You will find that exploring the possibilities of your story will generate something far different than the idea you started out with. This is a good thing—it means you made the story your own!
• Experiment with genres and tropes. Even if you want to write literary fiction , pay attention to the narrative structures that drive genre stories, and practice your storytelling using those structures. Again, you will naturally make the story your own simply by playing with ideas.

If you’re struggling simply to find ideas, try out this prompt generator , or pull prompts from this Twitter .

2. Outline, OR Conceive Your Characters

If you plan to outline, do so once you’ve generated an idea. You can learn about how to write a short story outline earlier in this article.

If you don’t plan to outline, you should at least start with a character or characters. Certainly, you need a protagonist, but you should also think about any characters that aid or inhibit your protagonist’s journey.

When thinking about character development, ask the following questions:

• What is my character’s background? Where do they come from, how did they get here, where do they want to be?
• What does your character desire the most? This can be both material or conceptual, like “fitting in” or “being loved.”
• What is your character’s fatal flaw? In other words, what limitation prevents the protagonist from achieving their desire? Often, this flaw is a blind spot that directly counters their desire. For example, self hatred stands in the way of a protagonist searching for love.
• How does your character think and speak? Think of examples, both fictional and in the real world, who might resemble your character.

In short stories, there are rarely more characters than a protagonist, an antagonist (if relevant), and a small group of supporting characters. The more characters you include, the longer your story will be. Focus on making only one or two characters complex: it is absolutely okay to have the rest of the cast be flat characters that move the story along.

Learn more about character development here:

https://writers.com/character-development-definition

3. Write Scenes Around Conflict

Once you have an outline or some characters, start building scenes around conflict. Every part of your story, including the opening sentence, should in some way relate to the protagonist’s conflict.

Conflict is the lifeblood of storytelling: without it, the reader doesn’t have a clear reason to keep reading. Loveable characters are not enough, as the story has to give the reader something to root for.

Take, for example, Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Cask of Amontillado . We start at the conflict: the narrator has been slighted by Fortunato, and plans to exact revenge. Every scene in the story builds tension and follows the protagonist as he exacts this revenge.

In your story, start writing scenes around conflict, and make sure each paragraph and piece of dialogue relates, in some way, to your protagonist’s unmet desires.

Read more about writing effective conflict here:

What is Conflict in a Story? Definition and Examples

4. Write Your First Draft

The scenes you build around conflict will eventually be stitched into a complete story. Make sure as the story progresses that each scene heightens the story’s tension, and that this tension remains unbroken until the climax resolves whether or not your protagonist meets their desires.

Don’t stress too hard on writing a perfect story. Rather, take Anne Lamott’s advice, and “write a shitty first draft.” The goal is not to pen a complete story at first draft; rather, it’s to set ideas down on paper. You are simply, as Shannon Hale suggests, “shoveling sand into a box so that later [you] can build castles.”

5. Step Away, Breathe, Revise

Whenever Stephen King finishes a novel, he puts it in a drawer and doesn’t think about it for 6 weeks. With short stories, you probably don’t need to take as long of a break. But, the idea itself is true: when you’ve finished your first draft, set it aside for a while. Let yourself come back to the story with fresh eyes, so that you can confidently revise, revise, revise .

In revision, you want to make sure each word has an essential place in the story, that each scene ramps up tension, and that each character is clearly defined. The culmination of these elements allows a story to explore complex themes and ideas, giving the reader something to think about after the story has ended.

6. Compare Against Our Short Story Checklist

Does your story have everything it needs to succeed? Compare it against this short story checklist, as written by our instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko.

Below is a collection of practical short story writing tips by Writers.com instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko . Each paragraph is its own checklist item: a core element of short story writing advice to follow unless you have clear reasons to the contrary. We hope it’s a helpful resource in your own writing.

Update 9/1/2020: We’ve now made a summary of Rosemary’s short story checklist available as a PDF download . Enjoy!

Click to download

Your short story is 1000 to 7500 words in length.

The story takes place in one time period, not spread out or with gaps other than to drive someplace, sleep, etc. If there are those gaps, there is a space between the paragraphs, the new paragraph beginning flush left, to indicate a new scene.

Each scene takes place in one location, or in continual transit, such as driving a truck or flying in a plane.

Unless it’s a very lengthy Romance story, in which there may be two Point of View (POV) characters, there is one POV character. If we are told what any character secretly thinks, it will only be the POV character. The degree to which we are privy to the unexpressed thoughts, memories and hopes of the POV character remains consistent throughout the story.

You avoid head-hopping by only having one POV character per scene, even in a Romance. You avoid straying into even brief moments of telling us what other characters think other than the POV character. You use words like “apparently,” “obviously,” or “supposedly” to suggest how non-POV-characters think rather than stating it.

Your short story has one clear protagonist who is usually the character changing most.

Your story has a clear antagonist, who generally makes the protagonist change by thwarting his goals.

(Possible exception to the two short story writing tips above: In some types of Mystery and Action stories, particularly in a series, etc., the protagonist doesn’t necessarily grow personally, but instead his change relates to understanding the antagonist enough to arrest or kill him.)

The protagonist changes with an Arc arising out of how he is stuck in his Flaw at the beginning of the story, which makes the reader bond with him as a human, and feel the pain of his problems he causes himself. (Or if it’s the non-personal growth type plot: he’s presented at the beginning of the story with a high-stakes problem that requires him to prevent or punish a crime.)

The protagonist usually is shown to Want something, because that’s what people normally do, defining their personalities and behavior patterns, pushing them onward from day to day. This may be obvious from the beginning of the story, though it may not become heightened until the Inciting Incident , which happens near the beginning of Act 1. The Want is usually something the reader sort of wants the character to succeed in, while at the same time, knows the Want is not in his authentic best interests. This mixed feeling in the reader creates tension.

The protagonist is usually shown to Need something valid and beneficial, but at first, he doesn’t recognize it, admit it, honor it, integrate it with his Want, or let the Want go so he can achieve the Need instead. Ideally, the Want and Need can be combined in a satisfying way toward the end for the sake of continuity of forward momentum of victoriously achieving the goals set out from the beginning. It’s the encounters with the antagonist that forcibly teach the protagonist to prioritize his Needs correctly and overcome his Flaw so he can defeat the obstacles put in his path.

The protagonist in a personal growth plot needs to change his Flaw/Want but like most people, doesn’t automatically do that when faced with the problem. He tries the easy way, which doesn’t work. Only when the Crisis takes him to a low point does he boldly change enough to become victorious over himself and the external situation. What he learns becomes the Theme.

Each scene shows its main character’s goal at its beginning, which aligns in a significant way with the protagonist’s overall goal for the story. The scene has a “charge,” showing either progress toward the goal or regression away from the goal by the ending. Most scenes end with a negative charge, because a story is about not obtaining one’s goals easily, until the end, in which the scene/s end with a positive charge.

The protagonist’s goal of the story becomes triggered until the Inciting Incident near the beginning, when something happens to shake up his life. This is the only major thing in the story that is allowed to be a random event that occurs to him.

Your characters speak differently from one another, and their dialogue suggests subtext, what they are really thinking but not saying: subtle passive-aggressive jibes, their underlying emotions, etc.

Your characters are not illustrative of ideas and beliefs you are pushing for, but come across as real people.

Your language is succinct, fresh and exciting, specific, colorful, avoiding clichés and platitudes. Sentence structures vary. In Genre stories, the language is simple, the symbolism is direct, and words are well-known, and sentences are relatively short. In Literary stories , you are freer to use more sophisticated ideas, words, sentence structures, styles , and underlying metaphors and implied motifs.

Your plot elements occur in the proper places according to classical Three Act Structure (or Freytag’s Pyramid ) so the reader feels he has vicariously gone through a harrowing trial with the protagonist and won, raising his sense of hope and possibility. Literary short stories may be more subtle, with lower stakes, experimenting beyond classical structures like the Hero’s Journey. They can be more like vignettes sometimes, or even slice-of-life, though these types are hard to place in publications.

In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape. In Literary short stories, you are free to explore uncertainty, ambiguity, and inchoate, realistic endings that suggest multiple interpretations, and unresolved issues.

Some Literary stories may be nonrealistic, such as with Surrealism, Absurdism, New Wave Fabulism, Weird and Magical Realism . If this is what you write, they still need their own internal logic and they should not be bewildering as to the what the reader is meant to experience, whether it’s a nuanced, unnameable mood or a trip into the subconscious.

Literary stories may also go beyond any label other than Experimental. For example, a story could be a list of To Do items on a paper held by a magnet to a refrigerator for the housemate to read. The person writing the list may grow more passive-aggressive and manipulative as the list grows, and we learn about the relationship between the housemates through the implied threats and cajoling.

Your short story is suspenseful, meaning readers hope the protagonist will achieve his best goal, his Need, by the Climax battle against the antagonist.

Your story entertains. This is especially necessary for Genre short stories.

The story captivates readers at the very beginning with a Hook, which can be a puzzling mystery to solve, an amazing character’s or narrator’s Voice, an astounding location, humor, a startling image, or a world the reader wants to become immersed in.

Expository prose (telling, like an essay) takes up very, very little space in your short story, and it does not appear near the beginning. The story is in Narrative format instead, in which one action follows the next. You’ve removed every unnecessary instance of Expository prose and replaced it with showing Narrative. Distancing words like “used to,” “he would often,” “over the years, he,” “each morning, he” indicate that you are reporting on a lengthy time period, summing it up, rather than sticking to Narrative format, in which immediacy makes the story engaging.

You’ve earned the right to include Expository Backstory by making the reader yearn for knowing what happened in the past to solve a mystery. This can’t possibly happen at the beginning, obviously. Expository Backstory does not take place in the first pages of your story.

Your reader cares what happens and there are high stakes (especially important in Genre stories). Your reader worries until the end, when the protagonist survives, succeeds in his quest to help the community, gets the girl, solves or prevents the crime, achieves new scientific developments, takes over rule of his realm, etc.

Every sentence is compelling enough to urge the reader to read the next one—because he really, really wants to—instead of doing something else he could be doing. Your story is not going to be assigned to people to analyze in school like the ones you studied, so you have found a way from the beginning to intrigue strangers to want to spend their time with your words.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or want to publish your own stories, you’ll find great literary journals for writers of all backgrounds at this article:

https://writers.com/short-story-submissions

Learn How to Write a Short Story at Writers.com

The short story takes an hour to learn and a lifetime to master. Learn how to write a short story with Writers.com. Our upcoming fiction courses will give you the ropes to tell authentic, original short stories that captivate and entrance your readers.

Rosemary – Is there any chance you could add a little something to your checklist? I’d love to know the best places to submit our short stories for publication. Thanks so much.

Hi, Kim Hanson,

Some good places to find publications specific to your story are NewPages, Poets and Writers, Duotrope, and The Submission Grinder.

“ In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape.”

Not just no but NO.

See for example the work of MacArthur Fellow Kelly Link.

[…] How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist […]

Thank you for these directions and tips. It’s very encouraging to someone like me, just NOW taking up writing.

[…] Writers.com. A great intro to writing. https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-short-story […]

Hello: I started to write seriously in the late 70’s. I loved to write in High School in the early 60’s but life got in the way. Around the 00’s many of the obstacles disappeared. Since then I have been writing more, and some of my work was vanilla transgender stories. Here in 2024 transgender stories have become tiresome because I really don’t have much in common with that mind set.

The glare of an editor that could potentially pay me is quite daunting, so I would like to start out unpaid to see where that goes. I am not sure if a writer’s agent would be a good fit for me. My work life was in the Trades, not as some sort of Academic. That alone causes timidity, but I did read about a fiction writer who had been a house painter.

This is my first effort to publish since the late 70’s. My pseudonym would perhaps include Ahabidah.

Gwen Boucher.

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• Scriptwriting

How to Write a Story Outline that Works [FREE Script Outline Template]

f you want to write a script, and finish it, story outlines are helpful. Why? Because once you have waded even knee-deep into the writing, it’s easy to lose sight of things. Even worse? Predators named fear and self-doubt will be stalking you.

Yet, there is a tool that can spare you this fate. The story outline – it is going to be your machete and your map.

Watch: Anatomy of a Screenplay — Ultimate Guide

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Freebie: Story Script Outline Template

Download your FREE story script outline template. Just enter your email address and we'll instantly send it to you!

Story Outline that Works

1. why this story outline template.

That's a very good question. 

There have been countless volumes written on how to write a story. From Aristotle to Robert McKee.

So why is THIS the one that'll help YOU?

A couple reasons.

First reason: it's simple. Simple to understand, remember, and to use when creating a story.

That alone puts this method of writing a story outline in a league all its own. Joseph Campbell wrote the definitive 'boiling down' of all storytelling when he created the monomyth.

It was, among other things, an attempt to simplify writing a story outline.

This is even simpler. Of course, this also incorporates much of his philosophy and approach to creating a story.

This story outline boils down all that came before it into the simplest of bite-size chunks. One word chunks. Eight of them, to be exact. 

Those chunks come to us curtesy of Dan Harmon's story circle.

Dan Harmon's Story Circle

Which brings us to point number two:

IT ACTUALLY WORKS

I have proof!

Some of this script outline template I learned from reading McKee, Syd Field, and something called ' the sequence approach' .

And to a lesser extent... Save the Cat.

But a lot of those methods are complicated. While each is valuable in their own right, they aren’t conducive to a script step outline; something that can be a tool by your side

Before he wrote  Community  and  Rick and Morty , Harmon hosted a monthly festival of 5-minute shorts I participated in called Channel 101 . There we all learned how to create 5-minute stories, the story circle way.

That little festival launched many a career. From  The Lonely Island  to  Justin Roiland , to  Adult Swim's  new show  Hot Streets .

Behind so much of that is this script outline.

So you can trust me.

It's simple. It works.

writing a story outline

2. find out how to write a story.

To  truly  do this, you need this script outline.

Even if you already know how to write a story , this plot outline template and its guidelines will help you take your knowledge and mastery of plot outline to even deeper levels.

Already feel you know that?

Well this script outline template will still make your writing process 10 times easier to complete.

But even if we ignore that… You still need to master and understand this plot outline template.

you need this to make sure your writing connects.

What do I mean by that?

Well for starters, this story outline template applies to more than screenplays. As mentioned, it's pretty effective when writing for television as well.  Think of it almost as a story outline worksheet for you to use.

Yet the application goes beyond even that.

CREATE STORY CONFIDENCE

The ideas and structure that teach us how to write a story are actually universal . These have been the steps to storytelling since early cultures inked animals on cave walls while retelling the hunt.

If you don't believe that, take Joseph Campbell's word for it.

The universality of this story outline structure will let readers know they are safe in your hands. Even without knowing it, the subtle cues of the script outline will tell them that this story will satisfy.

Trust me, executives and agents know immediately if a script or even script outline is following along the expected script outline beats. They won't move forward on any project that doesn’t.

Even if your ideas are amazing, they may not bring you on the strength of that alone. They’re not in the business of teaching people how to write a story outline.

They might not even get far enough to know if your ideas are good though.

The harsh reality is that they will stop reading as soon as they feel the steps of a script outline aren't there.

Is it fair? No. Probably not. But that's the way it is.

So before we break down each step of the plot/story outline, here is a look at the overview in "story circle" form. 

Related Posts

• Dan Harmon's Story Circle →
• Best Screenwriting Books →
• Become a Working Screenwriter →

story outline

3. act one: set up.

Every story has a protagonist. The first step, or sequence, is about establishing the protagonist and their world.

When you wrote your log line , you had to come up with who your protagonist was. It's also smart to have a strong log line before you start filling out a plot outline template.

Typically your protagonist should want something , and that desire should run in contrast a with who or where they are .

This creates an 'irony'. Good stories need irony.

Whoever your character is, and whatever type of world he or she inhabits, is your sequence one.

The simple one-word name for the sequence: YOU. Who is the “you”?

Is it a farm boy on a desert planet? Is it a girl who lives in Kansas with a little dog? A New York cop visiting his estranged wife in LA for Christmas? A billionaire by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night?

You get the idea.

4. The creation of the story

"A story is about someone who wants something very badly and is having a hard time getting it." 

Ever hear that one? Well even if you haven't, it's a common expression when starting to figure out how to write a story outline.

Campbell referred to this area as the 'Herald'. Sometimes in a story, a herald comes with the first signs of the adventure the hero must undertake.

R2D2 was the herald that brought Luke his adventure. Luke needed to get off the planet and save the princess/destroy the death star.

It was a combination of what he wanted, even before he met R2D2, and what R2D2 brought with him (the message).

You will sometimes see this part of the script outline labeled "the point of attack".

It's where something  to the world of the character, and it creates an active and urgent need.

This is where the character develops their need. Without a need, there is no story. It's just status quo forever.

Not super exciting...

This is why when you think of a character like Batman, for example, you might think a good plot outline would center on Batman fighting crime.

However, what makes The Dark Knight so excellent is that the status quo is Batman fighting crime. As soon as the "need" section of sequence two kicks in, we find that Bruce Wayne kinda/sorta wants to retire. 

THE ACT ONE "NEED"

You can read a lot about how to address the "need".

“Make it primal" is something you'll hear. That is to say, the more relatable and basic your protagonists need is, the more dynamic the rest of your plot outline will be.

The general idea is that what your character wants, what they think they need to address something in their status quo, will send them on a journey.

This is where the script , and script outline start to take shape. 

In a lot of cases, a protagonist will have two needs. One is an external goal, and one is an internal desire.

John McClane has the external need of saving the Nakatomi Plaza from terrorists. But he has the internal need of repairing his marriage and fixing his family unit.

To manifest his goal of retirement, Bruce Wayne has the external need to clean up Gotham once and for all. The internal need is to be with Rachel.

At the end of sequence two in our story outline template, we must define the main tension. The need is in clear focus, and where the character has to go to achieve it becomes apparent.

Batman must extradite a criminal, for Harvey Dent to prosecute, to help finish off the crime syndicate of Gotham.

The need is clear, it brings us to act two and step…

• Writing & Development Masterclass →
• How to Write on Spec →
• Secrets to Great Exposition →

how to write a story outline

5. act two: confrontation.

An urgent need demands an action. Your character has to "go" somewhere.

A story phrase often used is "the crossing of a threshold". Another term you'll come across is a “threshold guardian.”

Imagine a character has to cross a bridge, and a troll guards it. That is the threshold and its guardian.

Once your protagonist has their need firmly established, they have to go resolve it. That means leaving the world they know for a different world entirely.

This world is the upside down part of the circle. It's the dream state, the inverse of the safe world. The technicolor to the black and white that leads to "we're not in Kansas anymore".

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS IN THE SECOND ACT.

Luke has crossed the threshold into adventure

For Luke Skywalker, this is the part of the movie where he meets Han and Chewbacca. He gets into a bar fight. He starts learning how to use his lightsaber. He "goes" into space on his quest.

For Batman, this section of the journey is more of a "why things will become difficult." (another common phrase used to describe sequence 3). 

He "goes" to Hong Kong to extradite the criminal, Lao. He thinks it will be easy to hand the task of protecting Gotham over to DA Harvey Dent...

But the Joker has other ideas. He crashes the Dent fundraiser, starts killing, and threatens to kill until Batman is unmasked.

Different stories handle the section of the script outline differently, but the idea is that these are the first steps into the journey.

Batman was always a crime fighter, but now he's trying to fight a different kind of criminal, with new and higher personal stakes.

Tip: Try seeing your story outline template as a worksheet where you can fill in ideas about what section might be. You may find some new ideas come to you in that process.

• Internal vs External Conflict →
• Write Loglines to Impress Producers →
• Logline Examples for TV →

a story outline that works

6. the road of trials.

For there to be a story, reaching the objective has to be hard. 

Upon crossing the threshold in sequence three and into act two, our protagonist will face a lot of crazy new challenges. It might take a little getting used to this new world.

By sequence four, it's time to focus again on what we came here for.

More exactly, to search for it. This section is the main characters first real attempt to accomplish their goal. In the Hero’s Journey this could be “the road of trials”.

Which means this is when you’ll pack your story outline template with tons of set pieces.

I think this section is best understood with examples.

In Star Wars it becomes the search for Princess Leia and a way off the Death Star.

Batman is searching for a way to stop the Joker. This is where Alfred will tell him "Some men just want to watch the world burn". 

FIRST ASSAULT ON THE MAIN TENSION

Bruce decides that he must end Batman. He plans to come forward to end the Joker's killing spree. Ready to hand the city over to Harvey Dent's form of law enforcement. 

He comes to this conclusion with another memorable line of dialogue "I know what I have to become to defeat him".

(Bruce won't become that. For now...)

Side note: one reason certain moments of dialogue like these became so memorable is that they put a button on a point of the story outline template.

"I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father."

"We're not in Kansas anymore."

"We'll always have Paris."

These lines and countless others are defining plot moments. They are memorable because they accompanied or emphasized a major turn in the story.

People often make the mistake of thinking it was the phrasing, or the line of dialogue itself that made them feel something.

It wasn’t. It was the execution of the story outline.

The search section leads us to...

7. The midpoint

At the midpoint of the story outline template is at 6’o’clock on the story circle. Our character finds something here. It's not necessarily what they set out to find.

It may be a humbling lesson they learn as they failed in their first attempt to win their ultimate goal.

Sometimes referred to as "the belly of the whale". The adventure of act two has taken a toll. Now that we're halfway done, our character has been swallowed whole. Think about Luke and friends in the Death Star trash compactor.

He's got the Princess, but they're all about to get squished and die!

This is better seen as a turning point in the story outline.

One story has ended here, and a new one is about to begin. Luke's quest to find the princess is complete. A new quest, a secondary and larger quest, has begun.

This all takes hold in the next sequence:

8. The meeting with the Goddess

This sequence has an important job. It has to provide a jolt to carry us through the extra long second act.

We're halfway in, we've met and dealt with some of the main tension, embarking on the second half of the journey.

We need some help.

Aren’t you a little short for a story outline?

Writers often turn to a new character here for help. Campbell calls it the meeting with the goddess, and often in ancient myth a hero would actually meet a goddess here. 

Certainly when Han and Luke find Princess Leia, it is traditional “meeting with the goddess” timing, and she takes over the story for a bit.

That does not need to be the case. Let's take a different, more modern example of great storytelling. William Goldman's screenplay for Stephen King's  Misery .

At the midpoint, all hope seems lost for protagonist Paul Sheldon (James Caan). He has made an attempt to escape and failed. Now what?

Now we follow a character on the outside. Buster (Richard Farnsworth) who is looking into some of the unconnected dots of Paul Sheldon's disappearance.

Buster's quest proves fruitless. But it helps in a very important way. It gives the second act a much-needed booster.

In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent subverts expectations and claims he is Batman. This sets up a trap for the Joker.

The rest of the sequence plays out mostly in action, as the Joker attempts to kill Harvey, and Batman ultimately catches him.

In an interrogation scene, the Joker pushes Batman near to his breaking point on his personal code and rules.

The sequence ends with the Joker revealing to Batman that both Rachel and Harvey are trapped, and he can save only one... 

9. Final Assault

Our hero found something in the midpoint, at the start of sequence 5. Now our hero takes that something, whatever it is.

A golden fleece, a sword. In classical mythology, it's something of this nature.

That's why Dan Harmon's story circle refers to this step as "take."

Do they actually have to take something they found? 

No. But it's good to know the basic concept behind the step so you can elaborate in your own way.

The “take” step is about going up against the main tension once and for all. For all the marbles, so to speak.

Next time you go see a tentpole action-adventure movie, take note of how there is often a major battle around the end of act two that is NOT the final battle.

This is often the 6th sequence. The crossing of the return threshold into act 3.

And it leads to what we call a 'false resolution'. It's false because the movie isn't over yet.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

TAKE OR "THE MAGIC FLIGHT"

In Star Wars you could say this is where Luke and Han 'take' the princess off the death star.

The end of the sequence (and act) we're building to is the self-sacrifice and loss of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So going beyond the obvious and physical, what did Luke Skywalker really "take" from the death star experience?

What was the moment that started to define him in a new way?

Luke stares down death in this sequence. His "take away" is that he can survive. He's come out of the Death Star stronger, and ready to take on bigger challenges.

Batman also suffers a major loss. He chooses to save Rachel, but the Joker tricked him and he gets to what's left of Harvey. Rachel dies. 

The Joker starts creating chaos on Gotham with his threat that if a particular man isn't killed in one hour he'll blow up a random hospital.

The threat of the Joker's crime has become that he will turn all of Gotham into a criminal. Bruce Wayne decides to save Reese, but as Bruce, not Batman. The "take away" for Bruce? That he has to be Batman.

In either instance, these lessons propel the protagonist into their third act and step 7…

10. Act three: resolution

Once again, you don't need to take the name of the step too literally.

The character doesn't need to return anywhere physically, so long as they are returning to something. 

It could be a return to face down the primary antagonist. A return to their old job.

If act two was a journey into the 'upside down' state, then act three is the resurfacing in the normal world. Our character, having been through the adventure, has learned.

The "took" what they "found" on their journey. And now they are back.

In classical mythology, a hero would often leave their home to find something, and bring it back. Whatever they brought back would be a "boon" to their people.

There is even a step in Campbell's  Hero’s Journey  called "the ultimate boon".

Okay but let's talk about writing scripts again. What does this return step look like in the movies we've been discussing?

For Batman, it's a return to fighting crime but now with a new approach. He uses the 'tool' of his super surveillance without batting an eye. 

Batman spying on everyone...

Atonement with the father.

The word atonement is literally at-one-ment. 

Atoning with the father, in mythological terms, is meeting your maker. 

Coming to terms with your mortality. 

Batman does catch the joker and seems to defeat him. 

And Joker gives one of those classic "we are not so different, you and I" speeches that villains often give heroes. 

The people of Gotham opt not to kill one another on their ferries. All seems concluded...

Hey so remember that idea of the "false resolution". Well, this is it.

We might think for a moment, that whatever showdown took place was final. The state of things at the end of act two drove our character to this final act that would set things straight.

Luke and Han defeated the tie fighters during their escape from the Death Star. Moments later we learn that Darth Vader "let them escape" and planted a tracking device on their ship. 

arkin and Vader let the heroes escape.

The story isn't over. Leia even says "it's not over yet."

The Joker has poisoned Harvey's mind and turned him into a killer. Just when Batman has defeated him he reveals this to Batman in a classic "we are not so different, you and I" type monologue .

This return to safety, or normalcy, but under the guise of a false resolution leads us to…

writing an outline

11. the twist.

The twist isn't always a record scratch "whoa he IS Tyler Durden" kind of twist. 

The twist reveals that the resolution was indeed false.

Batman did not defeat evil. He did not save Gotham. There is still one task left.

Luke must face down the Death Star against incredible odds. Obi-Wan is dead, Han Solo has decided to take his money and run.

The twist? Obi-wan is still speaking to Luke through the force.

For Batman and Gotham? That evil still lurks. The joker has turned Harvey mad, and he's been on a killing spree.

In every story there is still something very important and very difficult left to do. Something that will require

screenplay outline

12. the master of two worlds.

At step one all we had was a "you", in what we described as a status quo.

For our story to be complete, a change must occur. An important one.

For Luke, this change is putting away his 'targeting computer' and trusting the force. The technology that has come to represent evil (Vader, the Death Star) is rejected.

Luke relies on faith.

And his faith is rewarded. Not only does he make the shot, but Han bursts out of nowhere to help him in a desperate moment.

Luke was never alone. He had the force, and he had his friend.

Not all hero’s quests end this well.

How about a not so happy ending?

Batman rushes to see what Harvey is up to only to find the disfigured "two-face" now threatening to kill a defenseless boy. 

Harvey Dent, the man who Bruce hoped would render his Batman identity obsolete, is now a criminal. The very worst kind, at that.

The 'war for Gotham’s soul' seems lost. Gotham's "white knight" of Harvey Dent is corrupt at the hands of the Joker.

Even worse? To save the boy, Batman breaks his one sacred rule. He charges at Harvey knocking him down and killing him.

Can he save Gotham from what Harvey became?

He can. By taking the blame for Harvey's murders. Batman has changed  and become...

CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN

Why does that moment resonate? Why is it so powerful? 

Because Batman was truly forced to change. 

A good story must reflect true change in the protagonist. They must be pushed to the brink, and change is the only way to survive.

That's the potential power of plotting your ideas carefully along the steps all great stories follow.

Batman’s journey inverts elements of the Heroes Quest. It’s proof that following the formula doesn’t mean your story, or take, need be formulaic.

Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, counter clockwise on a circle. 

It all comes back to joseph campbell.

This is another take on the story circle concept. From the original source itself, Joseph Campbell. 

Many of the sections of Campbell’s monomyth apply to this final section, and don’t always have to go in the order above.

One phrase and section I find very useful when thinking about the story outline is ‘the master of two worlds’.

Because the journey has been, without a fail, a journey into another world. The character who returns ‘changed’ after the end of every section must be now a master of two worlds.

But the real meaning behind the ‘two worlds’? Usually it indicates that the character has confronted death, and come out somehow immortal.

We’re getting into some next level story philosophy stuff- but keep that in mind next time you watch a movie, or think about a good story.

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Tips on Writing Better Dialogue

From "The Epic of Gilgamesh" to Star Wars to The Dark Knight , the steps and the story outline are the same. Of course there are no steadfast rules, but many times, outlines do help.

As you use the story outline, and break down other stories with it, you’ll begin to see that it applies to a lot more than movies and screenplays. Once you have your story outline down, check out our next post on writing better dialogue. 

Up Next: Tips On Writing Better Dialogue →

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How to Plot and Write a Novel With 12 Free Templates & Worksheets

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Writing your first novel can be more daunting in life than actually putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard. The untouched page is a frank sign of how much work there is to do.

In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott explains the writer's dilemma:

You are desperate to communicate, to edify and entertain...to make real or imagined events come alive. But you cannot will this to happen. It is a matter of persistence and faith and hard work. So you might as well just go ahead and get started.

Yet getting started is easier once you've done some initial prep work on your story; its structure, characters, and how on earth you're going to get this thing out of your head.

That's where these free novel-writing templates and worksheets prove handy.

1. Story Premise Worksheet

This worksheet from Evernote is a simple way to outline the main characters, plot themes, events, and conflicts within your story. By teasing them out of your mind and onto a worksheet like this, you'll be able to plot the broad story arc.

Remember to keep your descriptions specific and concise. This isn't meant to be an entire plot description.

If you're an Evernote fan, there are plenty of other Evernote templates you can use . But if you don't use Evernote, this worksheet can easily be replicated in other programs, or on a sheet of paper.

2. Character Basic Info Worksheet

This straightforward worksheet from The Novel Factory helps you to pad out your main characters. You'll find yourself adding to, and referring back to this info, time and again as your character develops.

If you want to flesh out your characters in more detail, you could download the accompanying Character Development Worksheet and Character Voice Worksheet .

3. The One Page Novel Plot Spreadsheet

If you're looking for a more linear approach to plan your novel, this spreadsheet from EA Deverell is especially useful. This customizable resource allows you to break down and describe each of your scenes so that you have a concrete plot before you start writing.

To start using this spreadsheet, open it up, click File then Make a Copy.

4. Freytag Novel Planning Worksheet

The Freytag method of planning out your novel sits somewhere between vague and extremely detailed. If that sounds like the approach you'd like to take, complete this worksheet from Duolit .

The model covers all essentials, without going overboard on planning. From the introduction of characters, through to rising action, and to the final resolution of your story.

5. Setting Worksheet

This PDF from The Writers Craft will help you to flesh out important scenes before writing them out in your first draft.

With this worksheet, you'll paint a detailed picture of an individual scene from your main character's viewpoints. You'll explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the situation to develop a vivid idea of what it is that you need to portray.

6. At a Glance Outline

Writer's Digest has a number of useful writing worksheets aimed at helping writers pen the first draft in 30 days. One of the most useful of these templates is the At-a-Glance Outline. This worksheet helps you to fill in any gaps and plot holes in your story before you come across them in the middle of your draft.

Working your way through this worksheet may be difficult at first, but when it comes to writing your novel, it'll make things a whole lot easier.

7. Choose Your Perspective Flowchart

This simple flowchart from Duolit will help you to figure out what perspective and tense you'll be writing in. This is an often overlooked part of writing a novel, so having this pinned down early on will give you a good advantage.

8. Chapter and Scene Breakdown

Another template from Evernote, this chapter and scene breakdown can easily be replicated in whichever program you prefer to use. Once you've planned out your novel in more detail, quickly creating a breakdown like this is useful for easy reference.

This will save you time searching through your notes when you're in the writing "flow".

9. Climax Sketch

Another great worksheet from Writer's Digest is their Climax Sketch PDF. This is where you will plan out the climax of your novel, "the point where the protagonist faces the conflict directly, with his goal on the line".

It's important you get this part of your story right, so spend some time on this to make it compelling.

10. Infographic: 10 Ways to End Your Novel

Technically, it's not a template or a worksheet, but given that figuring out how to end your novel will be one of the biggest challenges you face, this infographic is extremely valuable.

By knowing about the different ways in which you can draw your story to a close, you may well be able to improve your writing  and introduce more interesting plot twists and character development than you might have otherwise.

11. Scrivener Story Structure Template

There are plenty of programs for creative writers , but Scrivener is arguably one of the best. Case in point: this seriously detailed Scrivener template for outlining and structuring your novel covers everything you could imagine.

From character arcs, premises, abbreviated outlines, and character details, to props, areas for worldbuilding, planning out a series, and more.

If you're using Scrivener (30-day free trial available) to write your novel, this free template is certainly worth checking out.

Other Scrivener templates you might want to try are:

• The NaNoWriMo Novel Writing Template
• The Seven-Point Story Structure Template
• Ray Daniel Novel Template

12. Microsoft Word Novel Templates

These five free Microsoft Word book templates from DIY Book Formats (email registration required) are of high quality. And what's more, they'll save you tons of time wrestling with document formatting when you could be writing.

Each template includes paragraph and header styling, a cover page, footers, and page numbers, and comes in PDF, DOC, DOCX, and INDD (InDesign) filetypes.

For Google Docs Users: The DOC and DOCX files included in this collection can also be uploaded and used on Google Docs . You may have to slightly tweak line spacing, etc. but most of the formatting is retained.

Start Writing

By the time you've worked through a few of the worksheets included in this article, you'll be in a much better position to finally put pen to paper and become the writer you always wanted to be.

And who knows? After a few rounds of edits, you may even be ready to finally publish your ebook , and get your story printed so you can enjoy the pride that comes with having a physical copy of your work in hand.

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Home » Blog » 9 Best Book Writing Templates [+ Free Download]

9 Best Book Writing Templates [+ Free Download]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Writing a book can be a daunting task and there is never any shame in getting some help. You should constantly be learning how to become a better writer.

Utilizing the many resources that are available to you will make the process easier and more efficient. There is no telling how long it will take to write your book, so some book writing templates can help speed the process up.

A book writing template acts as a guide that writers can rely on. It helps you create the blueprint for your book. They are useful tools whether you are learning how to write a book, or are already experienced in the craft.

Book writing templates are most useful for new writers who are still wrapping their heads around the whole idea of writing a book. A template will give them the structure so all they have to do is let the creativity flow.

Especially for those learning how to write a novel length piece of 50,000 words or more, a book writing template will help you. It will allow you to stay organized and focused while you see your project through to completion.

The Benefits of Book Writing Templates

In addition to helping you do the writing itself, book writing software with templates has many advantages. They are there to help your book be the best it can be in all areas.

Some of these templates are built into their own software, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take them and do what you want with them.

Using these templates in conjunction with Squibler may be beneficial if you want to stay really organized and efficient. It is a fantastic book-writing software that is designed for book writers specifically. You can write books within minutes with this tool. You need to add the title and number of pages and you’ll get your book. You can also use your draft to generate a book with Squibler. In addition, its Smart Writer comes with various AI tools that allow you to improve your content.

Between Squibler and these brilliantly designed templates, you’ll be learning how to become a better writer in no time. The templates themselves have many benefits:

Professional Design

While the content itself is the main purpose of your book, aesthetics still need to come into play. From the layout to the font, you want it to look good. Knowing how to write a book isn’t only about storytelling.

There are book writing templates that will help you with these things as well.

Book Writing Templates are Easy to Use

When trying to write a good book , you don’t want anything to overcomplicate the process. Bookwriting templates are there to make things easier.

A template will be easy to understand and implement.

Better Publishing Experience

When it comes time to publish your book, having the right book writing template will make for a better experience. You will already have your book laid out the way it should be.

And, if you have chosen a template with design elements as well, you won’t have to worry about the way it looks. This makes for a seamless and stress-free publishing process.

Book Writing Templates Save You Time

Writing a book directly from scratch is overwhelming and not always necessary. Book writing templates will give you a head start on the structure of your book. This will save you valuable time.

Even as you begin the writing itself, having the template there to guide you will save you from getting lost in your own story. Once one section is finished you can move on to the next.

You will never have to sit there and wonder where you should go or what should happen.

Characteristics of the Best Book Writing Templates

While book writing templates will vary in what they have to offer, many of the core characteristics will remain the same. These attributes are ones you can look out for when selecting the best book writing template for yourself.

The Best Book Writing Templates are Comprehensive

The best book writing templates are often made by professionals. This means they know what they are doing. They are well versed in the world of writing and they know what will help you.

This means they should be detailed and thorough. Nothing should be missing from the process you are trying to create. For example, a novel outlining template should have sections for all basic aspects of writing a novel:

• Brainstorming
• Note taking
• Character sketches
• Setting sketches
• Chapter sections
• Scene sections
• Worldbuilding

Different types of books will have different requirements, but the template should include all of them.

The Best Book Writing Templates are Customizable

A good quality novel outlining template created by a professional will have a good structure that is effective. However, this doesn’t mean their method is set in stone.

A good template will allow you to customize it with ease while still maintaining its own basic structure.

For example, you might want to add more chapters than the number that is being recommended. Or, perhaps you choose to rearrange some aspects of the given novel structure. Making changes is okay – the templates are created as guides only.

The Best Book Writing Templates are Not Complex

While some book writing templates are expansive and cover lots of ground, they shouldn’t be complicated. A good template will be straightforward and easy to follow.

You should be able to navigate your way through it and know what you’re looking at. For example, the layout should have a proper flow – things should be in order. In a novel writing template, notes, research, and brainstorming should all sit next to each other, while chapters and scenes are kept together.

Learning how to write a book is complicated enough. Your book or novel outlining template should be simple at its core.

The 9 Best Book Writing Templates

Many writers swear by using a template and won’t start a project without one. Because of this, many options have been created. It can be hard to find the right one.

Start by identifying what type of book you are writing, and go from there. First, find a template that is relevant, then look for one that matches your likes and preferences.

While there are hundreds of templates available, these are some of the best and most common ones. If you are new to templates, it may take going through a few to find your favorite.

Most of the templates listed below can be used with Microsoft Word, Scrivener, Adobe InDesign, or Apple Pages.

For avid Scrivener users, we do have a more comprehensive list of Scrivener templates that you might find useful as well.

The Three-Act Story Plotting Template

This template focuses on the most basic level of story structure there: the beginning, the middle, and the end. This is known as the three-act story structure.

The three-act template will walk you through all the elements of each act.

The Beginning:

• The opening scene
• The inciting incident
• Call to action

The Middle:

• Rising action
• Turning point
• Denouncement, or resolution

All of these stages will be laid out for you. Once you have finished brainstorming your story, you need simply to write through every element. This will form an excellent baseline to create an engaging and effective novel.

For more details and some questions to prompt each section, check out Evernote’s version of the three-act story plotting template here.

The Story Beats Template

This template was born from the world of scriptwriting. It breaks the story down into “beats.” These continue to move the story along as each “beat” or milestone is completed.

This template is also available in more detail from Evernote.

The Spark Template

This book writing template was designed for novels and nonfiction books alike. It can be used with Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Adobe InDesign.

The Spark template is created to help you format your book for publishing, with less of a focus on the content itself.

This template offers support for both print and e-book publishing. You can find it available for purchase by clicking here.

The Pulp Template

This is another template that was created mainly to help you format your book for publishing. It offers a sleek and stylish design that is perfect for fiction as well as literary nonfiction.

You can buy it by clicking here.

The Britannia Template

This template is designed specifically for nonfiction writing. Another template to assist you in formatting your finished copy, it is easy to both understand and use.

It is compatible with Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Adobe InDesign. To preview and purchase the template, click here.

The No-Nonsense Novel Template

This is another book writing template that is useful for beginners and first-timers. It is an extension of the basic novel writing template that comes in Scrivener by default.

the template isn’t complex however it does offer some guidance in terms of structure and outlining. It contains sections for things like characters, settings, research, chapters, and scenes. In addition to these, it gives you a folder with a nine-point outline.

This basic but helpful template is designed for Scrivner and can be downloaded here.

The 30-Chapter Novel Template

This book writing template is a fantastic choice for first-time novel writers. While not every single novel is going to be 30 chapters, that number is a good average.

This template has a section for each of its 30 chapters already laid out for you.

Not only are they already created, but there are questions and thoughts to guide you through each chapter.  These prompts are designed to keep your story on pace and keep events happening where they should.

All the chapters are set up for you with their corresponding prompts. This is helpful for first-time novelists who may struggle with structure. It can also help in brainstorming for your outline if you choose to create one.

The World Building Leviathan Template

This book writing template is designed with fantasy in mind. Writing a fantasy novel requires extensive world-building.  A fantasy typically takes place in a realm or domain that is created entirely by the author.

This means that things such as physical laws, governments, and social classes need to be figured out. You also need to decide if you are writing a story about humans or other species. All of this is called world-building.

Building a world from scratch can be a terrifying and overwhelming thing to grasp. This is where the Leviathan method comes in.

The Leviathan method is simply a step-by-step look at your world. It asks you questions that create each piece of your new universe.

It is a comprehensive creation process, with a total of 52 steps. The steps and what they look like can be seen below:

As you can see, there are also sections for a “story bible,” characters, research, and more information on the world itself. A more complete world building template does not exist. This is where you want to be creating your fantasy.

Learning how to write a novel in the fantasy genre is an especially arduous task with all the different elements. This detailed and comprehensive template will take some of the pressure off.

It requires much time and effort, but it’s a template that will give you a whole new world by the end of it. If you think you have what it takes to go through the entire leviathan method, you can download the template for Scrivener here .

For a simpler and more straightforward fantasy template, you can check this one out:

This template still walks you through a fantasy novel. But, it focuses more on creating a novel that has a good structure, with fantasy specific elements.

The Personal Template

You may decide that none of the existing templates are going to work for you. It can happen – everyone is different. If this is the case, you may consider creating your own template.

Studying the professional templates already available will give you an idea of what to include for it to be successful. You can consider things like outlines, acts, parts, and varying structures.

You can create a personal combination of all the elements and suit it to your project specifically.

It won’t always be an easy task, but it may prove to be worth it in the end. You will be able to follow a guide that was curated especially for your book. If done correctly, this can help you create work that is truly fantastic.

You are never truly done learning how to write a novel. But, as you gain experience, you may be able to create successful templates of your own for others to use.

For a simple, generic guide to curating your own template, this example can be helpful:

This is an outline for a novel with no specific genre or style. It has some basic prompt for writing general fiction. You can easily add to this one and make it your own based on your book.

Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Book Writing Template

Each template is different and you will need to decide which is right for you and your book. These are some factors to consider when making the decision.

Easy Navigation

Even in a large and extensive template, navigation should be easy and fast. There should be no delay or confusion when it comes to flipping from one chapter or section to another.

User-Friendly

A good template will be responsive and versatile.

It should be compatible with multiple devices and fit on multiple screen types and sizes. This ensures the maximum amount of accessibility among users.

It Should Have a Theme

The template you use should fit the theme of your book.

Don’t try to use a nonfiction template for your novel. Using a world-building fantasy template probably won’t work when trying to write a romance either.

More general templates can be good if you don’t know exactly where your story is going just yet.

For example, you know you want to write a nonfiction book but you haven’t chosen a topic yet. This general template will be helpful in sorting out the details:

You can easily add to this template to make it more specific for your book, once you figure it out.

Assess the Features and Abilities

Depending on the template’s intended usage, the built-in features will differ. Make sure you understand the available features of your chosen template. Not every feature will work for every book.

A Template Which Supports the Right Tone

You want the template you choose to use the correct language. You want to tell your story in the proper voice. Find a template that works with the style of your book.

There is a difference in the way fiction and nonfiction are written. Find a template that agrees with what you are doing.

How to Use Book Writing Templates

Many templates are versatile and serve many purposes. However, they are generally used for either planning and outlining, or actually writing the book. Below are some tips for planning and writing your book with a template.

For the Planning of the Book

As a writer, planning is always of the utmost importance. You want to achieve a good result, and those don’t come from thin air.

In addition to book writing templates, there are some other things you can do to collect and organize your thoughts. These methods are useful and effective when used in conjunction with your chosen template.

The Snowflake Method

The snowflake method is a specific process that is used to tell a story. There are steps to take and certain things you need to do to make it work.

This method is well-suited to writers who like to work in chronological order. If you like to start at the beginning and write straight through to the end, this method is for you. If you are interested, you can check out the detailed instructions we created for writing with the snowflake method here.

Track Your Story With Time

It is, of course, important to be aware of the plot of the story you are writing.

In addition to this, however, it is helpful to also consider the passage of time throughout your story. When planning the events of your book, note the time frame. How many days, months, years have passed?

Did this event happen in the morning or evening? This is a simple method that can help you keep track of where your characters are at all times. It will also help ensure you don’t get timelines mixed up and overlapped.

Chapter Outline

This is a method of writing that goes well with the 30-chapter novel template mentioned above.

The idea here is to simply outline each chapter before beginning to actually write.

To do this, go through the plot you have created and break it down into individual chapters. Once you have done that, create an outline for each chapter. This can include potential scenes, events, important revelations, character developments, etc.

Of course, things can be changed along the way. This is just one way of getting an overview of your story as a whole.

Using Book Writing Templates to Create Your Storyline

While the use of an outline is widely debated, there is no denying the need for a good-quality storyline. Outline or no outline , this requires extensive knowledge of your characters and the world around them.

Well-written and relatable characters will give meaning to your story and make it memorable for the readers. There are a few things you can do to ensure you keep track of your characters as well as develop them correctly.

Create a Master List

This may or may not be necessary depending on your cast of characters. Some books contain a small handful of characters, in which case a master list might be moot.

However, any story with a large number of characters – whether big or small – is at risk of getting them confused.

This is why it might be a good idea to create a master list and keep it somewhere accessible.

All you need to do is create a list of your characters and note a few identifiable features. Name, brief backstory, and role in the story should suffice. Keep this on hand in case you need to remember who someone is or what they are supposed to do.

Biographies

In addition to a master list, it may be worth creating short biographies for each main player in your story. Details of their past and their current life situation. This will help you keep everything straight in your mind, which will translate to consistency on the page.

Readers will pick up on holes and inconsistencies in your character’s stories in no time if you allow them to be there.

Character Development Sheet

A character development sheet is something that should be done for your protagonist as well as all the other main characters.

All this entails is a list of every attribute or characteristic the character possesses. Even small things that may never appear in the story can be important in you knowing who the character is at the core.

This knowledge, even if not mentioned in the book, can be helpful in figuring out how a character would react or what they would do in a situation. This will help you create the most believable and authentic story possible.

Your readers will love a character that so closely resembles a real person.

Do Your Best Work With Book Writing Templates

If you are struggling to write your book or just want to get done faster, you can never go wrong with a book writing template. They are there as a guide and are by no means set in stone. In addition to helping you create your book, they really want to help you learn how to become a better writer.

The template you find might be a perfect fit for your book. You may find yourself making zero changes.

Or, there might be a template that you love, but it needs tweaking to fit your project. This is fine too.

While these templates are some of the best, the options really are endless. So, open up your favorite book writing software, grab your template, and get to work!

Here are some frequently asked questions about the best book-writing templates:

What is the best template for writing a book?

The best template for writing a book includes structured sections for an outline, chapters, and character development. It often incorporates writing paper templates for consistency, writing prompts to spark creativity, and resources from a writing center. Tailor the template to various grade levels to suit different age groups and educational needs.

Where can I find a book template?

You can find a book template on educational websites, writing resource platforms, and online writing centers. Look for templates that include a writing paper template to guide your format and structure. Squibler is one of the best places to find a book template.

Is there a template in Word for writing a book?

Yes, Microsoft Word offers book templates. You can find them by searching “book” or “novel” templates in the template gallery within Word.

What is the best program to lay out a book?

The best program to lay out a book is Adobe InDesign, known for its professional design tools and flexibility.

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Nathaniel Tower

Juggling writing and life

Proper Short Story Format with Free Short Story Template

Last Updated on June 14, 2023 by Nathaniel Tower

Knowing how to format your short story is the first step to getting published. No matter how great your story is, it doesn’t stand a chance if you don’t format it in a way that’s easy to read and clearly tells a publisher you know what you’re doing. 

Download your free short story template

Want to skip this article and just download your template so you can start writing your next short story? Go right ahead! You can download your free short story template right here .

For anyone who wants to read about why you should use proper short story format, continue below.

Always use professional short story format

The quickest way to get your short story rejected is by ignoring submission guidelines . If you don’t follow a publication’s formatting requirements, they aren’t going to publish your story because they’re never even going to read it. If you want to be published, you have to play the game according to their rules. The big problem though is that most literary magazines don’t clearly outline all the rules. When they don’t, that’s when you need to use a professional short story manuscript format.

Whether you’re submitting to World’s Worst Stories or to Only the Best Authors Get Published in Our Pretentious Zine , you need to present your story in a format that’s easy to read and shows you’re a serious author. The standard short story format accomplishes both of these things. When the slush editor opens your file, they’ll immediately want to read your story because it’s so inviting. If you send something that’s not properly formatted, they’ll likely let out a long sigh and throw it into the rejection pile without reading your outstanding first sentence.

At my own literary magazine, Bartleby Snopes , we automatically rejected anything that wasn’t double spaced. That was our only formatting request. Even though we clearly laid this out, at least 10% of submissions were sent single spaced. While we didn’t require a standard manuscript format, stories that were professionally formatted were much more likely to be published. Why? First of all, they made a good impression. Second, good writers are more likely to use the proper format. It may not seem like a big deal, but it is a differentiator when you’re up against thousands of other submissions.

The key elements of short story manuscript format

The great thing about a proper short story manuscript is how easy it is. Here are the general rules (see below for a free template you can download and use over and over again for your own stories and submissions):

• 1-inch margins all around (.5-inch for page headers)
• 12-point font
• Courier, Times New Roman, Arial, or something similar and easy to read (don’t get creative with your font choice)
• Indent paragraphs using a standard tab
• Double space the entire story
• Don’t add an extra space after paragraphs
• Use only one space after periods and other end punctuation marks
• Include your complete contact information single-spaced in the top left corner of the first page (name, address, phone number, and email address)
• Center the title and your byline approximately halfway down the first page
• On the first page, include an approximate word count in the top right corner
• On all subsequent pages, include the title, your last name, and the page number in the top right corner as a page header
• Use italics for things that should be italicized (old-school formatting tells you to underline things that should be italicized, but this is an archaic practice because we use computers now, not typewriters)
• Use quotation marks for dialogue and start a new paragraph when a new person is talking ( how to write better dialogue )
• There’s no need to put “The End” at the end of your story but it’s unlikely you’ll get rejected just because you do

That’s pretty much all there is to it. If it sounds too complicated, then I’ve created a handy short story manuscript format template you can download and use for free. Download it in whatever file format you need (.docx, .rtf, .odt, etc.) by going to File > Download as. Distribute however you’d like. No strings attached.

Use a short story template every time you write a story

Every time you write a story, you should use your proper manuscript format. While it might be tempting to open up a Word doc and just start typing away, you’ll save a lot of time in the long run if you use proper formatting upfront. It’s super easy to do. Just create a template and use it every time you start writing a new story. 

Never submit a short story that isn’t properly formatted

Any decent literary magazine gets hundreds or thousands more submissions than they can publish in a given month. The easiest way for them to save time and narrow the candidate pool is by rejecting anything that doesn’t follow the submission guidelines. Don’t be the writer who gets rejected immediately because you were too lazy to format your story correctly.

Short story template Word

It doesn’t matter what tool you use to create your short story. Most writers seem to prefer Google Docs or Microsoft Word, but there are many other programs you can use. If you want a short story template in Word or another compatible program, then you can get one free using the download link below.

Download your free short story manuscript template here and never be rejected again*

*This is not an actual guarantee that you won’t be rejected. You will still be rejected. It’s just a bold call to action to make you go ahead and download the template because I care about your success.

Always follow their formatting rules first

As we’ve established above, you should always use a professional short story format when you submit your work. However, it’s also important to respect an individual publication’s formatting requirements. Reading the guidelines thoroughly before you submit is always a requirement. While most publications aren’t particular about formatting, some have very specific requests. I’ve seen things like 10.5-pt font, single space with an extra space between paragraphs, 1.5 spacing, no indents, 5-space indents, etc. If any of these requirements are laid out, you’ll need to abandon your proper short story manuscript format and go with what they want. For everyone else–including the publications that say they don’t care about formatting–make sure you use the standard format outlined in this post.

Do you have any tips for short story formatting? Share your suggestions in the comments. 

Short Story Format FAQs

How should you format a short story.

If you are planning to submit your short story for publication, you should use the commonly accepted standard manuscript format. This format is very easy to follow, especially if you start from a template.

What is short story manuscript format?

Short story manuscript format is a widely accepted format that you should almost always use when submitting your short stories. The format is easy to follow and makes your story look professional. Key components include double spacing, 12-point font, indenting your paragraphs, 1-inch margins, page numbers and headers, and placing your contact information at the top.

Can I download a short story template?

Using a template to format your short story is a great idea. You can download a free short story template on the Nathaniel Tower Juggling Writer website.

Should you always use standard manuscript format for my short stories?

Generally speaking, you should use standard manuscript format if you want to get your short story published. The only exceptions to this rule would be if the publication requires a different format or if your story is an experimental piece that requires a different format in order to be read correctly. In the latter case, you can use most of the principles of standard manuscript format.

Are short stories double spaced?

Yes, you should almost always double space your short story if you plan to submit it for publication. This is part of standard manuscript format. In some rare cases, a publication may request for your story to be single spaced. Make sure you follow their guidelines if you plan to submit.

Do you indent a story?

Every new paragraph in your story should be indented. Use a standard tab rather than hard spacing to indent your paragraphs.

What font should you use for a short story?

Use a 12-point font that’s easy to read, such as Courier, Times New Roman, or Arial. You may be tempted to use a unique font to stand out, but this will make you look unprofessional.

What is a story format?

A story format could refer to the physical formatting you use to create your manuscript, or it could refer to the type of story you are writing (short story, novella, novel, etc.).

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9 thoughts on “ Proper Short Story Format with Free Short Story Template ”

I have been told that courier is no longer the proper font for short story submissions. Any comment on this?

Kate, thank you for reading and commenting. Courier is still acceptable but not the preferred font by any means. It can feel a bit archaic since it’s traditionally a typewriter font. I recommend Arial or Times New Roman.

Thanks for the information.

• Pingback: 🖋 Writing Links Round Up 6/22 – B. Shaun Smith

Great information, thank you. I agree about proper formatting. In busy publications, submissions are not even read if not properly formatted. Thomas Falater, New Bruinswick, Maine

Thank you for clearly laying out the short story formatting, Nathaniel. As a new writer I searched online for some time to find what was expected when the submission guidelines I had weren’t specific. What I found was a whole lot of conflicting information. I’ll be saving this for future reference.

I imagine the short story formatting should also be used when submitting essays, is that correct?

Thanks Nathaniel!

Hi Jules! I’m glad you found this helpful. I don’t have much experience submitting essays, but I would imagine this format would work quite well. Good luck with your submissions!

How many spaces between the title and start of text?

I recommend using four spaces (or two double spaces) between the title and the start of text.

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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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