NaNoWriMo suggests many ways to plot your outline. Even if you're a pantser, looking over these might spark some ideas, so go ahead and take a gander! Each of the following is linked to a Google doc from NaNoWriMo. You can find the links in the comments below.

Jot, Bin, Pants - You've got the seed of an idea - a character that calls to you, a world to discover, maybe a few plot ideas. Now it's time to explore that idea, but not on the page... in your head! Okay, that sounded weird. Here's what we mean. Instead of writing a whole novel to find out which twists end up getting you stuck or to realize that it would've been a more interesting choice for your character to do A instead of B way back in the beginning, we're going to do all that story imagining at the level of scene instead of sentence. (Inspired by Cassandra Lee Yieng's blog post).

1. Get yourself in a creative space, whatever that means for you. For me, it's my bed in the morning with a cup of coffee. Use index cards or a notebook or the next page. Close your eyes and start imagining your way through your novel as if you were reading it inside your head. Jot down every single scene that comes to you using just a few words. Take different paths on purpose to see what happens, and write down scene ideas even if they contradict each other.

Examples:

Katniss hunts outside the gates.

Katniss volunteers.

Katniss remembers Peeta giving her bread.

Peeta confesses love on TV.

Do this every day until you've thought through and collected around 50-100 scene ideas (depending on the length of your novel).

2. Time to sort! Spread your index cards on the ground or flip through your notebook or digital doc. Group the scenes into beginning, middle, and end piles (or docs, files, bins, etc). Don't throw away any scene ideas yet - add them to a "Maybe Not" group.

3. Now fine-tune your piles. Look at your beginning pile, figure out what your first few scenes might be, and put them in order. Use your instinct to guide you - what makes sense? What feels right? If you want more guidance with plot structure, check out our other plotting guides. If you realize a scene is missing, add it! Eventually, your goal is to have a list of scenes in the order they might happen in your story.

Use your list of scenes as a rough guide to keep you on track and moving forward throughout the month, but pants your way through all the actual writing. You'll discover new things about your characters and world as you write, but the general story structure might not change too much. Or it might! You can always return to the dreamstorm stage if you realize you need to imagine your way down a different path.

Your Plot Rollercoaster - Now it's your turn to outline your plot. You don't have to describe everything that will happen in your novel—some things you won't discover until you start writing! This is just to help you get an idea about what will happen in the beginning, middle, and end of your book. Follow the directions below to get started.

If it helps you structure your plot, you can use the blank "Plot Rollercoaster" further down this doc. To get an idea of how to use the blank rollercoaster, check out our example. If you're feeling really stuck, it might be because you need to spend more time just dreaming up your idea. In that case, take out a blank sheet of paper or open a new doc and spend some time freewriting about your story. Try thinking "What if?" or go back to your character and conflict exercises.

Describe your set-up.

In one or two paragraphs, describe a few scenes that will happen at the beginning of your book to introduce your characters, setting, and main conflicts of your story. Think about showing your protagonist in their ordinary life before everything changes.

9-Step Plot Dot

Ordinary World (start with lack) – Show your main character (MC) and their normal life, including friends, family, job/school. What flaws do they have? What's missing from their life? What do they want more than anything in the world?

Inciting Incident (call to adventure) – Boom! Something big changes. Maybe a stranger moves to town, or a family member dies, or there's an earthquake. Whatever it is, it kicks your story into action. What happens? How does your MC react? Do they accept this call to adventure right away, or try to ignore/deny what's happening so everything can just go back to normal?

First Plot Point (point of no return) – Your MC may have tried to avoid the call, but now things are getting weirder/more intense, and they're forced to make a choice to join the action. Everything changes - there's no going back now! How does the situation escalate? What forces your MC to choose? How do they feel about it all?

First Pinch Point (first battle) – Your MC has been exploring their new situation - meeting people, learning new things....and discovering new dangers and tensions. This all leads to the First Pinch Point, which is the first major interaction with the antagonist (in some form). What happens? What will happen if your MC fails to defeat this challenge at the end of the story (the stakes)?

Midpoint (shift from victim to warrior) – Your MC continues to face new challenges, but they're on the defense - mostly reacting, waiting, and making things worse. Then, halfway through the novel, something happens to shift their perspective and spur them to take action, to stop reacting and start winning, no matter what it takes. What does your MC try when they're on the defense? What shifts them into the offense? What new plans do they make?

Second Pinch Point (second battle) – Your MC has their second confrontation with the antagonist (in some form). Maybe their plans lead to this, or maybe it was an attack they had to respond to. Either way, this second conflict eventually leads to things being much, much worse than they were before... What happens? What does your MC try to do? How do things get worse?

Second Plot Point (dark night of the soul) – At this point, everything the MC feared could happen has happened. They've lost the battle (usually because of their flaw or lack of knowledge), and there have been serious consequences. They feel terrible and give up all hope... until something forces them to change their mind, to have a revelation about themselves and their battle. With this new knowledge, they rise up from the ashes. What terrible things have happened? What does your MC do? What revelation do they have, and what new plans do they make?

Final Battle (triumph-knowledge) – With their new knowledge, and maybe a pep talk from a close friend, your MC goes to battle with their biggest, baddest enemy (whatever that means in your story). Make it dramatic! There's a back and forth, things seem dark, your MC is going to lose, oh no! And then, victory. What will that final conflict be? What will be the most exciting, tense, drama-filled part of your story?

Return to Ordinary World – Your MC returns home, changed. They see their old life in a new way. How have they changed? What do they do? How do they feel?

Save the Cat Beat Sheet - There are several beat sheets out there. One of the most popular is the Save the Cat Beat Sheet. This image shows its overall structure of beat or important plot points. Fill in each block below with your ideas for each section. Don't write your whole novel here - just jot down general ideas for sections and scenes, like "Javiar's in an elevator when earthquake hits" and "Molly fights with sister - chases down a taxi."

ACT 1

Opening Image (0-1%) – Show a "before" snapshot of your protagonist and their world. What is life like before the adventure begins?

Set-up (1-10%) – Keep showing that ordinary "before" world. Explore your protagonist's life, including the internal flaws and external challenges they'll have to overcome in order to change for the better by the end of the story. Also, introduce important supporting characters.

Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up) – Somewhere in your set-up, include a scene where a character says something that hints at what the protagonist's big life lesson will be - how they'll have to change and grow by the end of the story. The protagonist won't understand the lesson until later, though.

Catalyst (10%) – This is when life-as-they-know-it changes forever! There's no going back to the "before" world from here... What is the inciting incident that pushes the protagonist into the next phase of the story?

Debate (11-20%) – But change is scary! Show the protagonist questioning themselves and resisting the path ahead - wondering whether they have what it takes, or whether or they should just run home and hide under the bed. This is their last chance to chicken out. "Should I just...?" "I really shouldn't because..." "But what about..."

ACT 2

Break Into 2 (20%) – Your protagonist answers the call! They make the choice to begin their adventure/transformation/journey/new thing. Show your protagonist deciding to plunge into Act 2.

The Promise of the Premise/ Fun and Games (21-50%) – This is when the reader thinks, "Ah, now we're getting to the good stuff they hinted at on the back cover of this book!" It's also one of the longest sections in your book. Show your protagonist getting used to their new world - loving it, hating it, making mistakes or doing well, meeting new people (see more below), and keeping the reader entertained.

B Story (happens during The Promise of the Premise) – Introduce a new character or characters who will eventually help the protagonist learn their life lesson. Friends? Mentors? Love interests? Nemeses (nemesi?)? Who are they? How will they help?

Midpoint (50%) – This moment is when everything seems "great" or everything seems "awful," depending on your story. Either the Fun and Games section has led to a false victory for your protagonist (they think they've been doing great so far) or a false defeat (they've been having a hard time so far). What happens in this moment, halfway between the beginning and end?

Bad Guys Close In (51-75%) – Get ready for a bumpy ride. If your Midpoint was a false victory, now things start to go wrong for your protagonist. If the Midpoint was a false defeat, well, things seem to be looking up, but the bad guys are getting closer and will have something to say. Note: Bad guys can be actual physical enemies, but they can also be emotional enemies, like doubt or jealousy or fear. Show the protagonist's newly-built world beginning to unravel. (This will also be one of the longer sections in your novel).

All is Lost (75%) – Oh, dear. This is when something happens to make your character hit rock bottom. It's the absolute lowest part of your novel. Maybe someone or something dies (either literally or figuratively). What does this moment look like for your protagonist?

Dark Night of the Soul (76-80%) – Your protagonist now has time to react to their "All is lost" moment, to mourn what they lost, and to wallow in hopelessness. Yeah, it's not pretty. They're worse off than they were at the beginning of the novel. Show how low things have gotten.

ACT 3

Break Into 3 (80%) – The "aha!" moment; the "lift yourself up and try again" moment. Show the protagonist realizing what they need to do in order to tackle their problems, both external and internal.

Finale (81-99%) – The protagonist does what they decided to do in the Break Intro 3 beat, and (because of all the learning/growing they've done and the support or insight from the B Story), their plan works! The Bad Guys are defeated, and the world is changed for the better. What are the battles? How will the protagonist triumph (or not)? This is another long section, so you've got the space to make things dramatic and intense!

Final Image (99-100%) – This is the opposite of the Opening Image, with the "after" snapshot instead of the "before." Show the reader how the protagonist and their world have changed!