Published:

08/08/2011 01:12pm

How to Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps

One of the most powerful secrets to creating plots that are emotionally compelling is to incorporate the 8 Basic Plot Elements, first identified by Melanie Anne Philips and Chris Huntley, the creators of the Dramatica story theory.

Starting with your story idea, you only need to make eight choices to ensure the plot of your future novel hangs together in a meaningful way. The best part is that you can make these choices and construct a brief plot outline in less than an hour.

Sound intriguing? Then let's get started.

I'll describe each of the eight elements in turn. If you already have an idea for a novel you're working on, get a pad of paper or your writer's notebook. As you read through the rest of this page, jot down ideas for how each element might work in your story. At the end, I'll show you how to use your choices to create a brief, well-rounded plot outline for your novel. If you don't have an idea for a novel yet, just grab one from your imagination. It doesn't have to be good. It's just an exercise after all.

On the other hand, if you already have a draft for a novel, that you're looking to revise, then ask yourself, as we go through these elements, whether you have included them in your story. Create a plot outline for your novel in the way suggested below. You may find you can strengthen your novel plot considerably by incorporating any plot element you neglected before.

1. Story Goal

The first element to include in your plot outline is the Story Goal. Briefly stated, the plot of any story is a sequence of events that constitute an attempt to solve a problem or attain a goal. The Story Goal is, generally speaking, what your protagonist wants to achieve or the problem he/she wants to resolve. It is also the goal/problem that involves or affects most, if not all the other characters in the story. It is “what the story is all about.”

For instance, let's say we want to write a story about a 38-year-old female executive who has always put off having a family for the sake of her career and now finds herself lonely and regretting her choices. In this case, we might choose to make the Story Goal for her to find true love before it's too late.

There are many ways we could involve other characters in this goal. For instance, we could give our protagonist ...

• a mother who wants her to be happier.
• friends and colleagues at her company who are also unmarried and lonely (so that her success might inspire them).
• a jealous ex-boyfriend who tries to sabotage her love life.
• an elderly, lonely spinster of an aunt who doesn't want the protagonist to make the same mistake she did.
• a happy young family who give her an example of what she has missed.
• a friend who married and divorced, and is now down on marriage. (Forcing the protagonist to work out whether her friend's experience really applies to her – or whether it was just a case of choosing the wrong partner, or bad luck.)

We could even make the company where the protagonist works in danger of failing because it doesn't appreciate the importance of family. It could be losing good employees to other companies that do.

In other words, after we have chosen a Story Goal, we will build a world around our protagonist that includes many perspectives on the problem and makes the goal important to everyone in that world. That's why choosing the Story Goal is the most important first step in building a plot outline.
If you haven't chosen a goal for your novel yet, do so now. Make a list of potential goals that fits the idea you are working on. Then choose choose one goal to base your plot outline on.

2. Consequence

Once you have decided on a Story Goal, your next step is to ask yourself, “What would happen if the goal is not achieved? What is my protagonist afraid will happen if he/she doesn't achieve the goal or solve the problem?”

The answer to these questions is the Consequence of the story. The Consequence is the negative situation or event that will result if the Goal is not achieved. Avoiding the C