If you’re having a hard time figuring out how to create a gripping plot outline for your novel, use the 8 essential plot points as your guide.
The Xlibris Author Advice gives you a creative exercise using these elements to jumpstart your imagination.
1. Story goal
This is your protagonist’s objective or a problem he/she wants to resolve. This also directly or indirectly concerns other characters.
Let’s say you main character is an aspiring middle-aged office worker who wants to publish his first book for the longest time. He has always put off his dream after a past rejection disheartens him. He now feels that it’s too late to pursue his writing. Your story goal may be to turn his dream into reality.
Give your aspiring author some supporting characters that are involved in his goal in one way or another.
- a supportive wife
- a traditional publisher that rejects his story
- a pessimistic, bullying colleague who dampens his spirit
- his favorite writer
- a late father who was also an aspiring writer. The main character discovers his father has left a manuscript but died without publishing it into a book.
- a stranger who introduces him to self-publishing
Your challenge: Think of other characters that may be influential to your protagonist’s goals.
2. Consequence
Your story’s consequence would be the answer to this question: “What happens if your main character doesn’t reach his goal?”
In pursuing his goal, the protagonist will avoid the consequence at all costs. This creates the drama that makes your story emotionally compelling.
For the abovementioned main character, the consequence may be that he would end up like his late father.
Your challenge: What other possible consequence(s) can you think of if the protagonist fails to become a published author?
3. Requirements
What steps does your protagonist need to take to achieve his/her goal?
These requirements heighten your readers’ anticipation as to how soon or long your protagonist would reach his goal. What requires an aspiring but disheartened writer to become an author? He may need to improve his manuscript and find a means to publish his work other than traditional publishing.
Your challenge: Write down a list of possibilities that could lead the protagonist to achieve his goal and what he needs to do to make it a reality. Challenge yourself to create different scenarios.
The sequel for this writing tip article gives you the rest of the 8 essential plot points.
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