Outlining can be both the most exciting and sometimes the most difficult part of the writing process, especially when you’re trying to draft a novel in only 30 days. So I came up with a solut…
6 story structures, complete with story structure charts to help you create an original plot and outline your next novel.
Sometimes there is nothing better than the classics. Today we examine Freytag's Pyramid, the most common plot structure in novel writing.
A blank novel outline template for use with Google Docs, Google Keep, and Scrivener. The One Page Novel is a simple, memorable structure for novelists.
May starts with a holiday, May Day, that is actually two completely different holidays with the same name, one being a rather giddy affair involving begarlanded youths dancing around a flower-strewn pole (which, let's face it, was obviously a pagan fertility rite), and the other is a Communist celebration of the worker that is more like Labor Day, except that it tends to feature rather militaristic parades instead of barbecues and family reunions. To each his own! Speaking of barbecues (and, why not, military parades), May has the ever-popular Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer, as well as Mother's Day. Could there be any more reasons to celebrate in May? Heck, yeah! Monthly Observances May is National Allergy / Asthma Awareness Month, although I believe I became aware of my allergies a little earlier this year, thanks. It is also the National Month for Arthritis, Barbecue, Bikes, Eggs, Foster Care, Good Car-Keeping (so keep your National Egg Month celebrations far away, please), Hamburgers, Hepatitis Awareness, Meditation, Mental Health, Military Appreciation, Moving, Osteoporosis Prevention, Physical Fitness and Sports, Physiotherapy, Preservation, Salad, Salsa, Smiles, Stroke Awareness, Revising Your Work Schedule, and Vinegar (good timing, with the salad and all, I must say). It's also National Photo Month, so make sure you take pictures of those nicely-kept cars and your favorite hamburgers. May is also International Audit Month (eek!), as well as the International Month for Business Image Improvement, Victorious Women (yay!) and Lyme Disease Awareness, so if you are being audited and you point out the weird, bullseye-shaped rash on your auditor's leg, she will be treated in time to become victorious over her Lyme Disease and will certainly give you a pass on the audit out of gratitude, thereby improving your business image. Snaps for Lyme Disease Awareness! Weirdest Holiday: I couldn't decide between National Two Different Colored Shoes Day (3rd) and Slugs Return from Capistrano Day (28th), although I am at no loss to determine which one would be easier to observe. May Traditions Flower: lily of the valley - humility, sweetness Birthstone: emerald - tranquility, luck in love Taurus's gem: emerald Zodiac sign: Taurus (1-21) and Gemini (22-31; see June for details). Taurus the Bull is an earth sign, as stable and immovable as the ground under your feet. Also immovable is the bull, who has a reputation for stubbornness. On the good side, that translates into stick-to-it-iveness, loyalty, and reliability, but Taureans may have a hard time adapting to change or seeing other points of view. Best friends: Virgo and Capricorn. Best love matches: Pisces, Scorpio and Cancer. Famous Birthdays: Bing Crosby (2nd), Audrey Hepburn (4th), Karl Marx (5th), Willie Mays (6th), Billy Joel (9th), Yogi Berra (11th), Stevie Wonder (13th), Liberace (16th), Pope John Paul II (18th), Cher (20th), Bob Dylan (24th), Miles Davis (25th), Vincent Price (27th), Gladys Knight (28th), John F. Kennedy (29th), Clint Eastwood (31st). Catholic Feast Days 1- St Brieuc, St Marculf, St Peregrine Laziosi, St Sigismund of Burgundy 2 -St Athanasius of Alexandria, Sts Exsuperius & Zoe, Ste Mafalda, St Wiborada 3- Our Lady of Czestochowa, St James the Less, St Philip 4 -St Florian, Ste Pelegia of Tarsus 5 -St Aventine, Ste Judith, St Hilary of Arles 6 -Ste Ava, St John Before the Latin Gate 7 -St Domitian, St John of Beverly 8 -St Victor Maurus, St Wiro 9- St Tudy, St Pachomius 10- St Cathal, St Job, Ste Solangia 11- St Gengulf, St Claudian Mamertus 12- St Dominic of the Causeway, St Francis Patrizzi, St Pancras 13- Ste Imelda, St Servais, the Blessed Dame Juliana of Norwich, Ste Rolanda 14- St Boniface of Tarsus, St Matthias, the Blessed Giles of Portugal 15- Ste Dymphna, Ste Hallvard, St Isidore the Farmer 16- St Brendan, St Honoratus, St John Nepomucen, St Simon Stock, St Ubald 17- St Madern, St Paschal Baylon 18- St Eric, St Theodotus, St Venantius 19- St Celestine V, St Dunstan, Ste Pudentiana, St Yves 20- St Bernardino of Siena, St Ethelbert 21- St Constantine the Great, St Eugene de Mazenod, St Godric 22- Ste Juliana of Corsica, Ste Rita of Cascia 23- St Didier, St William of Rochester 24- Our Lady, Help of Christians; Ste Sara; Ste Joanna 25- St Bede, St Urban I St Gregory VII, St Zenobius 26- Ste Mariana de Paredes y Flores, Ste Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi, St Philip Neri 27- St Augustine of Canterbury, the Blessed Bartholomea Bagnesi 28- St Bernard of Montjoux, St Germanus 29- Ste Bona 30- St Ferdinand III, Ste Joan of Arc, St Walstan 31-Our Lady of High Grace, Ste Petronilla The fun isn't confined to May! Check out these other months: January - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/01/your-january-birthday-january-holidays.html February - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/02/your-february-birthday-february.html March - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/03/your-march-birthday-march-holidays.html April - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/03/your-april-birthday-april-holidays.html June - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/05/your-june-birthday-holidays-traditions.html July - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/07/your-july-birthday-july-holidays.html August - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/07/your-august-birthday-august-holidays.html September - https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2019/08/your-september-birthday-september.html October - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-october-birthday-october-holidays.html November - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2017/10/your-november-birthday-november.html December - http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/12/your-december-birthday-december.html Image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/apple-blossom-blossom-bloom-1125908/
BRILLIANT! Positively BRILLIANT. Most comprehensive outline I’ve ever seen anywhere. Thank you Derek! A few years ago I made the Plot Dot (now free on Amazon!) – my simple 8-point novel writing template, with the major dramatic twists most stories need to hit. I always wanted a more in-depth book outline and plotting cheatsheet, but […]
A plot structure might be the key to finishing your novel! Here'a a printable cheatsheet to the 7-Point Structure, Save the Cat, The Writer's Journey, The One Page Novel...
One of my favorite ways to outline or plan a story is to map it out like a subway or road map. Here's how this technique works. Each road or subway line
Last year, Dan Wells, author of “I Am Not A Serial Killer” went over a story structure he found in the “Star Trek Narrator’s Guide: Roleplaying Game”, which …
We've created novel outline templates for each major genre that follow the Hero's Journey and other proven story frameworks.
Gavin and Peter Watts Paskale outline the core principles of telling powerful stories in every presentation you make. It’s one of our ‘Must-Reads for Every Presentation Professional‘ that we think should be required reading for every presentation designer, speaker and coach if they want to shine in this industry. Gavin McMahon is a senior partner and co-founder […]
The 5 items on this novel-writing checklist will impact every page. Whether you're writing or revising, make sure all your story's pieces are in place.
So, where exactly is your plot taking you? What happens next? What is this story about? It’s time to think about plot. Plotting Worksheet
We've created novel outline templates for each major genre that follow the Hero's Journey and other proven story frameworks.
From my previous posts outlining the major beats of classic design (aka: arch plot, the universal story, mythic structure, the hero’s journey, etc.) you’ve seen that this design is ver…
Last year, Dan Wells, author of “I Am Not A Serial Killer” went over a story structure he found in the “Star Trek Narrator’s Guide: Roleplaying Game”, which …
Gavin and Peter Watts Paskale outline the core principles of telling powerful stories in every presentation you make. It’s one of our ‘Must-Reads for Every Presentation Professional‘ that we think should be required reading for every presentation designer, speaker and coach if they want to shine in this industry. Gavin McMahon is a senior partner and co-founder […]
6 story structures, complete with story structure charts to help you create an original plot and outline your next novel.
Story plotting and structure provide a way to give your storytelling scope in a systematic writing process. Learn more.
Writing a novel is hard, so you need to break the task down into simple, easy-to-manage pieces: this is the snowflake method. We show you exactly what to do - with examples.
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—write a 50K word novel during November) starts today, and while I plan to continue blogging throughout NaNo, I wanted to make sure I gave you something good to keep you happy during my crazy month. *smile* Of course, whether or not you’d define today’s post as anything good might depend […]
Plot structure examples from fables to novels teach us much about keeping stories interesting. Learn from plot structure examples.
6 story structures, complete with story structure charts to help you create an original plot and outline your next novel.
We talk a lot about using picture books in our teaching. I am wondering though if you are using wordless picture books in your lessons. If not, you are missing out on a great teaching resource. I try to incorporate wordless picture book in my lessons for a variety of lessons. picture source Well, besides the fact that a picture is worth a thousand words, there are plenty of other great reasons to incorporate wordless picture books in your teaching: -They lend themselves to any lesson you could think to teach. -They level the playing field in the class. Without text to contend with, you can still teach reading and writing skills/strategies to the whole class or mixed ability groups without needing to level. This is great for your lower performing students and your ELL friends. In fact, I find that my high ability students are often the ones that don't so as well with wordless book activities. They often like to stick to the text and want it to be "right." With wordless picture books, you have a lot of wiggle room which can make them uncomfortable. My lower performing students are often able to take the lead in these types of activities. -It sparks your friends imagination. Without text, you will be amazed at what they read into what they see. -You can use the same books across many grade levels depending on what you ask your friends to do with them. They aren't just for little kids! -A lot of the ways I use these books require my kids to be up and moving or working on the floor in small, cooperative groups. Anything different from seat work is always welcome! -These lessons also often require collaboration, conversation, and decision making as a class. I thought I would share with you some of the ways in which I have used wordless picture books in my classroom. Now, for each of the skills/strategies I list below, I have given an example of how you can teach it. However, there are a bazillion other ways you could teach these lessons. These are just some examples. You could expand the lesson or simplify it as you see fit or maybe you have your own idea on how to do it. Do what works for you! Sequencing -Copy all the pages of your book. Divide the pages into three parts; beginning, middle, and end. Give it to three groups. Each group sequences their pages. Then, bring the three groups together to decide the sequence of the three sections. Once they have decided, I tape the pages in order up around the room and we view the story from beginning to end. As a groups, they can make any last minute changes at this point. We then read the actual book and see if we sequenced the same way the author did. This is where the real lesson comes in. If there were no changes, you can discuss how they determined sequence. It's important for them to verbally justify their reasoning. If their sequence doesn't agree with the book, they have to defend their reasoning. I find that there are times when the sequencing my friends do really does make more sense than what is done in the actual book. It is in the discussions where I hear how my friends are applying sequencing skills. This is great for your ELL friends as it puts them on an equal playing field to the rest of the class as there is no text to struggle with, and still teaches them the skill. Many of the lessons that follow are great for your ELL friends for the same reason. This is also great for the lower grades if you use a simple book. They can organize simply for beginning, middle, and end. Inferencing & Predictions Without words, you must really analyze the story story through the illustrations. When reading the book with your friends, have them make predictions before the next page. Without text to cite, they really must apply some good inference reasoning. When you do this as you read the book, they are always in anticipation of turning the page to see if they were correct. Dialog & Mood Select a page or two that has two characters. What would those characters be saying in this situation? How do I write that dialog? Using just one page for this makes it a good quick hit for a mini-lesson. You can then give your friends another page to write the dialog in independent practice. This is a great way to have them practice crafting power sentences as it forces them to incorporate mood, which they must determine from what is happening in the illustration. You can also just use the illustrations to determine mood without having to write the sentences. In this case, the dconversation you have with your friends is critical. They need to explain how they determined mood. What in the picture gave you that idea? What are the characters doing? What is the setting? Did the illustrator use darker, moodier colors or brighter, happier colors? I find this same technique an excellent way to teach internal monologue. After reading the book with the class, I focus on a page that comes later in the story. At this point, there is something going on in the story, some conflict, so my friends have something to work with. We then focus on one character in the illustration. I ask my friends what this character might be thinking. What would his thought bubble say? We go on to discuss how internal monologue gives us insight to the characters, their feelings, motivations, etc. and how it can give us additonal information that we may not otherwise know. My friends then work in pairs to come up with internal monologue for different characters in the book or for the same character in different parts of the book. Without fail, I find after I do this lesson, my friends begin to incorporate internal monologue in their own writing. Character Analysis After reading the book, what do you know about the main character/protagonist? This really focuses your friends on a characters actions. Create a list of character traits with your friends. The lesson comes, again, in having your friends justify their choices. What makes them say the character is kind or frustrated or loving? You get the idea! Narrative Writing Obviously, there is no text in a wordless picture book. Have your friends write the story guided by the illustrations. This is a good way to teach or review narrative writing. You can write the story on chart paper as a shared writing activity. This way you can be sure to guide them in incorporating the required narrative elements. Or, you can always do this as a small group or independent writing assignment. I like doing it in small groups at the end of the narrative writing unit. I can see my friends applying what we have learned. Also, it is really a lot of fun when we read the stories from the different groups. While we all had the same illustrations to follow, the stories are always different. The plots vary, some go for humor while other groups are more serious. Some groups embellish beyond the pictures, while others pretty much stick to the pictures. Identify Plot Structure, Story Climax For this, I usually have my friends sequence the story first. Then, we discuss the story plot. Once we know what is happening in the story, my friends identify the story page that shows the climax of the story. We can then look at the pages before and after. If you have taped your story along the wall as we do, you can then move the pictures to show the plot mountain. picture source When you tape the pictures in a visual display on the wall, they can then use sentence strips to label the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It is a very concrete, visual way to teach these elements. Main Idea & Supporting Detail If you've done either the sequencing or plot structure lessons above where you ordered the pages on the wall, you should try this lesson. Have your friends identify the page that essentially shows the maid idea. Once you are all in agreement, have them take down any pictures that don't support that main idea. You will be left with only pages that show events which support the main idea. Again, a very visual and concrete way to teach this skill. I would chart this with words. Write the main idea and then, looking at the pages, come up with a sentence for each supporting detail. I would also just suggest being particular about what book you use. Some wordless picture books tend to be very fanciful and imaginative. This works best with a book that follows a less imaginative, "real" story. Those are just some ideas for lessons you can teach with wordless picture books. Depending on your learning goal and what you require of your friends, I find them to be excellent books to use across all grade levels. In particular, your older students will really get a kick out of using them because it is so different from their norm. So, let's talk books. Wordless picture books can be hard to find if you don't know what you are looking for. In my public library, the wordless picture books are mixed in with all the other picture books. You could spend forever looking for one without words. With a simple Google search, I was able to find a few different lists. Below are two links I think might be helpful in getting you started. I selected these list because they both have books I have used with great success. I'll tell you a little more about two of my favorites that are on the lists. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has a nice selection of books listed online. One of my favorite books on this is list: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. It is a wordless retelling of the Aesop fable and won the Caldecott in 2010. It's perfect for so many different lessons. This one book can easily be used for all the lessons I listed above. The Louisville Free Public Library also has an online list. A few of the books on their list are the same as on the Carnegie list, but there are some different ones. One I like and have used is You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Weitzman. Being just a quick train ride away from New York City, my friends can always make connections to this book as many have been to large museums in the city. What I really like about this book is that there are multiple illustrations on each page. There is usually a larger, main illustration with smaller ones around it. It is like having supporting details on the page for the main picture and is very helpful for your students that need more information or visual clues. Between these lists, you should have a good starting point. There are a lot of great wordless books out there, and these are just a small sample. There are so many others I could go on about. Talk to your school media specialist, and see what they recommend. It would be nice if they had a special section just for these types of books. However, don't be discouraged if you can't get your hands on any wordless picture books or don't have the time to go looking. It is easily solved. Grab your favorite picture book and some Post-It notes. Simply cut the Post-Its to cover up the text. Voila! You can turn any picture book into a wordless picture book. So, is any of this helpful or have I just rambled on? :-) How are you using wordless picture books? Do you have a favorite to share?
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Once you've discovered a general idea of your plot, you can use these three steps to figure out how to structure your story's outline.
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The content you create must be driven by what you want to achieve.
6 story structures, complete with story structure charts to help you create an original plot and outline your next novel.
Writers, it's time to discuss one of my favorite storytelling topics: plot structure. Today, in particular, we're going to break down a structure originally outlined by mythologist Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces . The Hero's Journey is a classic plo
We've created novel outline templates for each major genre that follow the Hero's Journey and other proven story frameworks.
Learn to use the 27 Chapter Plot Structure to create a plot for your next novel! With examples from The Hunger Games!
Jami Gold's Writing Worksheets: Help for all writers, from newbies to experts and from plotters to pantsers.
