How to Plot a Novel for Beginners: Sort Scene Cards into Three Acts and Set Your Writing Days

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How to Plot a Novel for Beginners: Sort Scene Cards into Three Acts and Set Your Writing Days

A beginner template for plotting a novel, made for the weekend before you start a 10,000-30,000 character short story for a contest or web deadline. It has four pages. Page 1 sets the one-line summary, what your hero wants, what stands in the way, and the deadline and length. Page 2 gets every scene idea onto sticky notes from six branches. Page 3 sorts the notes into beginning, middle, and end and fixes five turning points. Page 4 becomes a chapter table with lengths and writing days. The task board has four columns - planning, writing, rereading, and posted - and four parent tasks with three subtasks each. Many beginners write in the order ideas arrive and stall in the middle. Here you collect every scene first and sort them after, so you know what goes where. Aim for beginning 1, middle 2, end 1; for 20,000 characters, that is 5,000, 10,000, and 5,000. Set your reread and posting days before the deadline, and log what worked, what stuck, and what to fix next.

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① Logline (who does what, and what ha... ② What your hero wants ③ What stands in the way ④ Deadline and length (entry rules an... ⑥ Every scene you can think of (add s... ⑦ Closer look at scenes that interest... ⑧ Beginning (from the scenes on ⑥⑦, o... ⑨ Middle (half of the whole) ⑩ End (one quarter of the whole) ⑪ Five turning points (length: beginn... ⑫ Check each act (compare with the wa... ⑬ Chapter writing table (split the ac... ⑭ Reread and posting days (leave room... ⑮ What worked ⑯ Where I got stuck ⑰ Fix next Novel Plot Board ... How to use (4 pag... Story core and goals Rules and deadline Obstacles and stalls Scenes and insights 1/4 Set the story core Ctrl+F / ⌘F : 2/4... → 2/4 2/4 Pour out every scene ↙ 3/4 e.g. Haru, a sixth grader who hates moving, meets a ghost boy in an old apartment complex and learns to speak honestly in their last summer Fit who, what they do, and what happens into one sentence Keep it to about 60 words or fewer If torn, write two or three and circle the one you most want to write e.g. Stop the move and stay in the current town e.g. Deep down, wants the family to understand how lonely she feels Write the visible goal and the wish inside separately You do not have to decide yet whether she gets it or gives it up e.g. Dad's transfer is already decided and cannot change e.g. Haru cannot speak honestly and tells no friends Look in three places - people, rules, and your hero's own weakness A weak obstacle makes a flat story. Write it strong Entry rules Your target Watch out for Deadline e.g. Until Oct 31, 11:59 p.m. e.g. Finish writing on Oct 24 e.g. The last day is crowded, so avoid it Length e.g. 10,000 to 30,000 characters e.g. 20,000 characters (4 chapters x 5,000) e.g. Check how the rules count characters Where to post e.g. A web fiction site short story contest e.g. Enter the way the rules say (tags and so on) e.g. Read the site rules first Who should read it e.g. Not specified e.g. Adults who miss their summer vacations e.g. Make the children's lines easy to read ⑤ Scene seeds (sp... e.g. Haru and the ghost boy's last summer Meeting e.g. On the stairs at night, the boy speaks first Failure e.g. Haru hides her feelings and fights with the boy Parting e.g. The night before the move, they watch fireworks from t… Incident e.g. The complex is to be torn down, and the boy begins to … Secret e.g. The boy lived in this complex 30 years ago Decision e.g. Haru tells her parents how she feels, on her own A meeting scenee.g. The night a stair light burns out, the boy asks, "Aren't you scared?"One scene per sticky note. Do not judge yet An incident scenee.g. A notice of demolition goes up on the bulletin boardKeep adding in the order they come to you A decision scenee.g. At dinner Haru says, "I'm lonely"It is fine to write the last scene first How manye.g. Move on once you have 20 to 30If you stall for 5 minutes, look at another branch on ⑤ Who What happens What changes Scene A e.g. Haru and the boy e.g. They talk for the first time on the stairs at night e.g. Haru has a reason to keep coming to the complex Scene B e.g. Haru and her mother e.g. The moving boxes arrive e.g. The number of days left becomes clear Scene C e.g. The boy e.g. His body starts to turn see-through e.g. They both know time is short 3/4 Sort scenes into ... → 4/4 4/4 Write chapter by ... e.g. Haru spends the summer before the move at the complex e.g. She meets the boy on the stairs at night Move the sticky notes from ⑥⑦ here Include a scene that shows what the hero wants e.g. The two visit the complex's places of memory e.g. The demolition notice goes up e.g. She hides her feelings and they fight Order them so the obstacles grow stronger e.g. On the roof she learns the boy's secret e.g. Haru tells her parents how she feels e.g. On moving day she looks at the town and smiles Decide whether she gets what she wants or gives it up Inciting eventThe event that sets the story movinge.g. The boy speaks to her on the stairs at night (within the first 2,000 characters of 20,000) First turning pointThe hero can no longer turn backe.g. She promises to help the boy (around character 5,000 = end of the beginning) MidpointHow things look is turned upside downe.g. She learns of the demolition and that the boy will vanish (around character 10,000) Second turning pointFrom the darkest scene, the story turns toward the ende.g. After a fight, the boy stops showing himself (around character 15,000 = end of the middle) ClimaxWhat the hero wants is settlede.g. They part on the roof and Haru tells her parents the truth (within the end) What she wants Obstacle What changed Beginning e.g. Stay in the current town e.g. Dad's transfer is already decided e.g. She meets the boy and has a purpose for the summer Middle e.g. Help the boy e.g. The demolition, and her habit of hiding her feelings e.g. After the fight she is alone End e.g. Move away still loving the town e.g. The sadness of parting e.g. She can now speak up about her feelings Scene to write Target length Writing days Done mark Chapter 1 Beginning e.g. From the meeting to the promise to the boy e.g. 5,000 characters e.g. Oct 14 and 15 e.g. Done Chapter 2 First h... e.g. From the memory visits to the midpoint e.g. 5,000 characters e.g. Oct 17 and 18 - Chapter 3 Second ... e.g. The fight and the second turning point e.g. 5,000 characters e.g. Oct 19 and 20 - Chapter 4 End e.g. From the parting on the roof to moving day e.g. 5,000 characters e.g. Oct 21 and 22 - Spare days e.g. Finish the chapter that ran late - e.g. Oct 23 and 24 - Reread dayse.g. Oct 26 and 27Read aloud and fix typos and mismatches in the story Posting daye.g. Post on Oct 29Put it 2 days before the deadline (Oct 31) If you run out of timee.g. Use the spare days on ⑬If that is not enough, cut one scene e.g. Oct 14 Chapter 1, 3,000 characters. Settled the meeting dialogue Record the day and the length Write down small steps forward too e.g. Oct 17 The boy's way of speaking wobbled in the middle Write which scene you stopped at If stuck for 30 minutes, move on to the next scene e.g. Pick one verbal habit for the boy and fix from Chapter 1 Save fixes for the reread days on ⑭ Do not over-fix while you write → 2/4 Pour out every scene ↙ 3/4 Sort scenes into ... → 4/4 Write chapter by ...
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Task board contents

Planning 16 items

Set the story core
Pour out scenes
Sort into 3 acts
Write by chapter
Write the logline
Want and obstacle
Deadline and length
Branch out 6 seeds
Fill scene notes
Detail 3 scenes
Split notes by act
Set 5 plot turns
Check each act
Chapter table
Set reread and post
Log each day

Writing 0 items

Rereading 0 items

Posted 0 items

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