I've really been itching to finish my story just so I can restructure it, arrange the chapters differently, and make sure everything flows correctly. Honestly I love revisions! It's like a logic puzzle where I can make my story pieces fit exactly how I want and clean up my language.
So today I indulged myself and worked on my story outline for the last time! I started with the three-act structure described by KatyTastic, but then I added in some extra chapters just for "explanations" and more reaction time for the characters.
I went through my story first and then created my outline. Previously I was doing it the other way around, but trying to cram my story into an outline structure just wasn't working.
I'm happy to say that I finished my novel outline complete with 32 chapters. This is the structure that I've made (without my story notes of course!)
ACT I – Setup: Introduce problems
Setup – Introduce hero in the ordinary world
1) Introduction of hero
2) Inciting incident
3) Immediate reaction of said incident
Conflict – A problem disrupts the hero’s life
4) Long term reaction to incident
5) Action
6) Consequence of taking said action
Resolution – Hero’s life has changed directions and pushed into the new world
7) Pressure and stress
8) Pinch – plot twist that he can’t ignore
9) Push – into the new world whether he likes it or not
ACT II – Conflict: Play around with problems
Setup – Hero explores and experiences the new world
10) Hero enters the new world!
11) Inciting incident to introduce differences in new world
12) Experience events in the new world
13) Finish these events and find the call to action, the reason to be a hero!
14) Gain new weapons, powers, or abilities. Time to experiment with them.
15) Before you kill yourself, time to get some training with those abilities
Conflict – Hero encounters crisis of the new world
16) See the different between new and old worlds
17) Problem brings them together
18) Build up to the midpoint (contemplation and thinking of choices. No action yet?)
19) Midpoint – things change or a false victory
20) Reversal – what the midpoint changes for the hero (what is the false part. The crap part!)
Resolution – Hero is now dedicated to finding a solution
21) Reaction – how hero reacts to the change within himself
22) Action – time to take action for himself!
23) Dedication – how completely dedicated to finding solutions!
ACT III – Resolution: Everything falls apart, but hero puts it back together!
Setup – A dedicated, transformed hero faces problems so great that victory seems impossible
24) Trials – they face things they never have in the old world. It’s good they are so dedicated now!
25) Problem drives them apart – another plot twist that makes things even worse
26) Darkest moment – no hope and gonna give up!
Conflict – Hero must find the power within and take action
27) Power within – hero has to find it!
28) Action – now THEY are the ones making stuff happen. They have control!
a. Self-sacrifice or symbolic death?
29) Converge – the previous action now forces the plot to converge and come together
Resolution – Hero fights and the battle ends (hopefully he wins!), resolving the quest
30) Battle!
31) Climax – point of no return
32) Resolution – what happens after the climax? How do they return to their world? Answer all questions, or leave a cliffhanger for next book!
==================
Right now, I'm just starting Chapter 16 and my word count is above 60k. I can see there is a lot of information packed into the middle of the story, and I can't help worrying about it. Will that make my story feel boring in the middle? Or am I just not identifying events correctly as I write them? Those questions come from my "planner" personality, that likes to take over my brain from time to time.
That's why I decided to print out my outline and leave it on my desk as I type along. That way I can see where I'm going and do my best to stay on track. If I can fit more events into a single chapter during Act II, then I'll cross it off on my sheet.
There won't be any story excerpts or word count updates for today either. My plan is mostly to sprint and try out different scenes that are on my outline. I want to play around with events and see what I like. I'm hoping that will jump start my creativity for writing the second half of the story!
Wow! I am super impressed by your awesome organisation!! I can't outline to save my life -- the best I can do on a good day are scribbles on index cards! Hope it works for you!!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm with Esme on that one: I can't outline either! I'm always super amaze at how much of a fantastic planner you are! That's a trait we don't share, twinsie! :P
ReplyDeleteYour story looks super awesome cool like that! ^_^ I so wish I could do it too... But like I said, the left side of my brain (the planner side) just simply doesn't work... (Maybe I can have it amputated to make more room for the right side!! :O Hmmm......)
Ok, I'm talking nonsense... I'm off to bed! :P
Keep up the awesome work!!! :D
Don't amputate your logic side! You still need math to count out all the books you'll need to finish Terra Fae! But thanks for the compliment (and Esme too!) on my planning skillz. I find it really necessary to figure everything out or I'm stuck dead in the water with writing. It's awful when I feel I'm just wandering around in my writing. As much as I watch you write and others, its becoming more clear to me how my own style is just...different. I'm still experimenting but I think I'm getting close.
DeleteThanks again!
lol you probably have the best style there is!!! Cause, dunno about Esme, but for my part, I do feel like I'm dead in the water and just wandering around my writing half the time! At least, you're capable of swimming out! hihi All I can do is... wait for 'genius' to strike again! :P
DeleteEveryone has a different style, that's just literally how it is XD And it's a good thing! It means you've got a strong, distinct voice! As for wandering vs. swimming... idk, sometimes I'm doing a nice little breast-stroke and others I'm doggie paddling to save my life!
Delete