Novel Plan Template

The Novel Plan template is the central hub for your project. It includes the key parts of your creative process: Your ideas, research, inspiration, outline and, character profiles. There are also checklists for your workflow so you have everything in one easy-to-access place.

Whether you're writing a sci-fi thriller or historical fiction, research is a crucial step in the early writing process. It's a springboard for new ideas and can add substance and authenticity to your story. As author Robert McKee says "when you do enough research, the story almost writes itself. Lines of development spring loose and you'll have choices galore."

Wikipedia, blogs, and news websites are a goldmine for researchers. It's here you'll find historical events and records, data, and opinions about your topic. Video and movie clips can help you understand a mood or feeling in a way that words sometimes can't. Collect everything in your research board so you can reference it through the writing process. Learn more about collecting and organizing your research in our guide: How To Organize Research for a Novel.

You have an idea for a story. It's just a spark at the moment, but you can't stop thinking about it. Now is the time to harness your creative energy and turn your idea into something real. And brainstorming is the perfect technique for the job.

Brainstorming is a classic creative technique for generating new ideas quickly. You can use it to dream up new characters, settings, or even explore themes you want to include in your book.

Start by writing the central concept for your story in the middle of the board. Next, spend 5 minutes adding ideas related to your concept.

Think about different parts of your story, locations, characters, or even the history of your topic. Explore every thread until you fill the board. Finish by sorting the best ideas into groups. This gives you a strong foundation for your novel. Master brainstorming with our step-by-step guide: How To Brainstorm Story Ideas.

During brainstorming, you imagined the different parts of your story. It's time to start collecting inspiration with a moodboard (or "inspiration" board). It's a technique used by designers, filmmakers, and photographers but works just as well for creative writing.

Moodboards can help you visualize any aspect of your project. You can use them to figure out how a character or location could look. Or they could be centered around the era or the emotion you want to capture. You can create a moodboard for each of these separately or mix them all into one board. There are no strict rules.

Drag in images from your computer and drop them onto the image placeholders on your moodboard. Then, use the built-in image library to add inspirational references. Finally, move and crop your images to get the layout you need. Learn more about how moodboarding can enhance the writing process with our step-by-step guide: How To Make A Moodboard For A Novel.

A novel outline is often described as a roadmap or blueprint for your story. It helps you see the big picture and plan the sequence of scenes, characters, and ideas that will become your novel. It's a simple, flexible technique to help all types of writers stay organized. Think of it as the modern, digital equivalent to the corkboard or wall of sticky notes, but much easier to manage.

Start by laying out the major scenes or events you know so far. These might be the key turning points, locations, or plot twists. Next, add a sentence or a short paragraph for each scene. Think about what's being communicated in this scene, the location, and the characters involved.

Finally, collect visual references that will help bring it to life. While imagery probably won't make an appearance in your novel, this is a great technique for kickstarting new ideas. Experiment by adding images or movie clips that relate to your scenes.

The are many different ways to outline your story. Find the approach that works best for you in our story outline template collection: Five visual templates for outlining your next novel

One of the most integral parts of any story is crafting relatable and vivid characters. As writer Ernest Hemingway said, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

The character profile is a popular technique for developing genuine personas for your story. It will help to shape a narrative as well as provide a handy reference point for their personality traits, backstory, goals, flaws, and challenges.

Just like people, characters are made up of their past experiences, goals, and aspirations. Craft a backstory to help make them more believable. Next, give them quirks and flaws. Your character should come from an authentic place. That means that the character probably has some contradictions that make them a little out of the ordinary. If a character is too simplistic, it can feel cliched.

Finally, find some visual references. Even if you're writing a novel, images and inspiration can help bring your character to life.