Content Warnings

I’m gong to caveat this article by saying: I am a plotter. SHOCKHORROR lol I’m sure many of you knew that. You probably could have guessed based on the title. But my other caveat is: this is stuff coming from my own brain, which has been saturated in Truby and Weiland and other hardcore plotters. If it doesn’t work for you or if you hate it, don’t at me. This is purely a “hey, maybe this’ll work for you!” exercise. If you prefer your own thing, then do your own thing.

Why outline?

So I love my pantser friends because they can do something I can’t: they can just sit down and write. But there are good reasons for even a pantser to learn to outline.

1. You’re actually a plantser. Yep, you thought you could just race through and now you’re stuck with 180k words of meandering nothing. You need structure!

2. You’re a pantser but your agent/editor has asked you for a synopsis of a book you haven’t written yet. This is probably the most compelling reason to learn to outline. Because either you discovery-write the book really fast, or you need to find a way to do the discovery in miniature.

3. You want a scaffold. To me, it’s not an outline, per se. What is it? We’ll talk about that in a second.

Many of you pantsers probably already know how to outline. Great! Ignore the rest of this article. For those of you who want to try a different method, keep going…

The scaffold

When I think of an outline, I think of it like a skeleton. It provides all the necessary structure for the skin (aka words) step by step.

This is not that. This is a scaffold. It’s not terribly accurately formed but it provides a general shape onto which you can drape your cloth (aka words).

We are going to make our scaffold out of three major events corresponding to the three major acts1:

1. Inciting incident

2. Midpoint

3. Climax

Inciting Incident

The inciting incident as I’m using it (see KM Weiland) occurs about 50% of the way through Act 1. It occurs after your set-up. It is, roughly, the first moment in the story that irrevocably draws your reader into the plot.

Wow, vague, right?

In Twilight, it’s when Edward saves her from getting killed by a car. In Die Hard, it’s when the terrorists enter Nakatomi Plaza. In my book The Wandering Dolls, it’s when Daga realizes that her best friend, Jadzia, is missing.

It’s the point at which the old world is going, and the new world must begin.

Midpoint

I freaking love the midpoint. It’s the point around which the whole book turns. There’s a great book Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell that talks all about the midpoint.

Basically, it’s 50% through act 2. Bang smack in the middle of your story. Until this point, the action has all been rising. Your hero has been stumbling. The midpoint is the point at which your hero learns a truth that changes everything. After the midpoint, the hero starts to kick ass.

It also mirrors the early part of your story. In what way, C.J.? Well, think of a time in the first half when the character failed. After the midpoint, try to think of a mirror scene, a similar situation in which they can at least partially succeed.

In Twilight, it’s when Edward reveals he’s a vampire. In Die Hard, it’s when John has to shoot up the police cars and start taking action. In The Wandering Dolls, it’s when [redacted] dies and Daga realizes that Jadzia isn’t just missing—she’s in grave danger.

Climax

This one is unique in that it’s not a middle. The climax is going to take place towards the end of act 3, almost at the very end. Afterwards is just a little resolution.

The climax is the big battle. It’s the final confrontation with the antagonistic forces.

In Twilight, it’s the fight at the ballet studio. In Die Hard, it’s the fight with Hans Gruber up on the roof.

The Climax is the last high point before the action settles and we get a nice (or naughty) resolution.

Using the scaffold

This part, if you’ve somehow read this far, is pretty self-explanatory. Use the three components! Even if you’re a pantser, you probably (or maybe not, don’t at me) have some idea of your desired ending. You at least have a sense of the beginning. The midpoint is probably going to be the hardest because middles suck, but you’re smart, you can imagine it.

So identify each of the three key components. Then start to imagine. Daydream. Do some discovery writing in your notebook or word doc. What might your hero do after the inciting incident? And then? And then? How are you going to connect the dots between the inciting incident and midpoint? Then do the same between midpoint and climax.

The end

I’ll be the first to admit, this is not revolutionary. This is just a variation on other techniques. But sometimes you need to hear things in a different way for them to click. So for you pantsers who find yourself in need of a little structure, or who are being forced to write a synopsis before the book, I hope this helps!