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What Kind of Author are You?
One of the most fun debates in writing circles is questioning your plotting strategy. Are you a plotter or a pantser? I, myself, consider myself a plantser. I love to plan, but I can veer off course slightly when creativity strikes. But one thing I swear, no matter the type of writer you are- you can STILL benefit from outlining! There really is a strategy out there to meet every kind of writer. And to prove that, I have a collection of my favorite Outline Examples to share below! And my own Franken-Joyana way for putting them together!
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
If you have not read this book yet, I cannot stress enough how much you NEED TO! One thing I love about the Story Genius method is it forces you to think about your character in depth. You must ask what is motivating them to act the way they do?
Most outline examples will focus on hitting particular plot driven markers. Story Genius, however, focuses on how the things that happen in the plot affect the protagonist and how they change internally as a result.
Focusing on the internal struggle,the lesson they need to learn and overcome internally to solve a problem in the plot externally, is what makes a story more relatable and interesting.
To create that internal struggle, Cron suggests finding what your character wants and why, their internal misbelief that is standing in their way, and their actual need they discover by the end of the story. Remembering this and having it remain front and center driving your character’s actions will bring your story to life.
There is so much to glean from this book! I strongly suggest completing the What If exercise in the book before doing any true outlining or plotting. That exercise alone will force you to figure out what the main point of your story is. Then you can really determine how to answer these other questions about your character. Once you’ve figured out who your character is and their internal struggle, it’s time to move on to the next part of the Franken-Joyana outline example.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
The Save the Cat method began as a screenplay technique. But it’s now evolved into an all kinds of writing plot creation outline example.
Save the Cat’s main premise is that the key to plotting is pacing and structure. Structure being the order in which those events happen. And then the pacing is the timing of when they happen. They then also stress the importance of character in the story and call the three the Holy Trinity of Story.
So, with that in mind, we’re going to take all the character work we just did with Story Genius and add it to the Save the Cat beat sheet.
The Save the Cat beat sheet is a map of road markers to guide your character’s transformative journey in your story. You’ll see the fifteen beats they have on the beat sheet in the book. But coming up immediately with your fifteen beats can be overwhelming. I suggest starting with the Five Foundation Beats exercise first. Having those first five pivotal beats will greatly help you come up with the rest of your beat sheet and character journey.
So, now you have your core character internal struggle and your beat sheet for your character’s transformative journey. Next in the Franken-Joyana method is moving on to outline examples for creating the perfect scene.
The Plot Whisperer by Martha Anderson
The Plot Whisperer is another great plotting outline example overall. But where it really shines is breaking down the nitty-gritty logistics of crafting a killer scene.
Plot Whisperer focuses on the universal story which they define as a character pursuing a goal, facing a series of conflicts and obstacles, and as a result of their choices along the way they are transformed and have a new understanding of themselves.
To achieve this, Plot Whisperer believes three primary plot devices should be intertwined through every scene. Character Emotional Development, Dramatic Action, and Thematic Significance. Plot Whisperer states that in a scene a character acts and reacts to people, place and events. These actions and reactions should be related to the three primary plot devices mentioned above. Plot Whisperer offers their Scene Tracker to bring these threads together.
It takes awhile, but I recreate and use this Scene Tracker for outlining my entire novels. It makes a huge difference! I just started writing my third Ruth book, The Girl in the Newsroom. This was the first time I used my full Franken-Joyana method, but I’ve already noticed a difference in how much easier/faster my actual writing is going. Since, I did all the character development and handled all the major plotting structure on both the macro/micro level it now feels liberating to sit down and write. It’s fun and and playful to fill in all the creative details now without worrying about writing myself into a corner.
So, did any of the outline examples intrigue you? Did the Franken-Joyana method intrigue you? Hopefully, I’ve at least piqued your interest enough to think about outlining and give one, or all the books a chance. Happy writing!
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