- What's up my friend? Abbie here, and welcome back
to WritersLife Wednesdays, where we come together to help
you make your story matter, and make your author dreams come true. Are you a pantser, or a writer who just hates
outlining of any kind? But you're starting to feel like maybe my writing could actually benefit from a little bit of outlining. Okay, first let me tell you, you're right. Outlining your story before you write it will not only strengthen your characters, your plot, and your themes, but it will also help you tremendously during the editing process, because you'll never
have to do a big rewrite. Because you took the time to
make your story incredible before you even started
writing the first draft. But I know that plotting and outlining can be really overwhelming, especially if you're used to flying by the seat of your pants. Here's the cool thing,
you can outline as much or as little as you want to. And in this video I'm going to show you how to make the most minimal, and non-intimidating outline that will guide your story to greatness. So if you want to outline your
story but you hate outlining, keep watching, this video is for you. Why does your story matter? Good question. What if I told you that there's a science behind every great story. I don't just teach you how to write, I teach you how to change
the world with your story, and make your author dreams come true. (chill music) Your outline should serve
you, not the other way around. I think this is the reason why a lot of writers hate
outlining, and hate plotting, is because they feel
like they are now trapped by their outline. Once you start plotting, you start writing down all
the details of your story, you start using story structure, you suddenly feel so
confined to this outline that it's no longer creative,
and playful, and fun. I have definitely been there. And when I first started
writing, I was a pantser. I did not outline anything, I did not plot anything, I just wrote whatever I felt like writing, wherever the story was
taking me in the moment. But then I started to realize that I was looking at outlining all wrong. I was looking at it as this
box that you put yourself in, and then you can't escape the box, and you can't change the box. That is the misconception
that a lot of writers, a lot of pantsers, have about outlining. And it's just not true. You can change your outline. Your outline should not limit you, it should free you to be more creative, and to try new things, and
to be able to see your story from a bird's eye perspective which is what an outline gives you, that allows you to create
an incredible story before you even start writing it. So don't worry, this outlining method is not going to trap you, it
is not going to limit you, it is going to free you,
and I'm gonna show you why. So the outlining method that I'm going to walk you through today has three simple pillars. Premise, protagonist, and story structure. And don't be afraid of
that word story structure. I know the word structure is
scary to a lot of pantsers, but don't be scared 'cause story structure is really all about
character transformation. When I talk about it on my channel, I'm talking about
character transformation. Because every compelling character arc follows a journey of change. Usually it flows something like this. The main character is
internally conflicted. They desire something, and their fear is standing in their way. Something happens to push them
outside their comfort zone and set them on the path of their journey, where they will encounter
obstacles, and plot twists, as they pursue their misbelief based goal. Eventually a disaster strikes, leaving your character hopeless and confronting their greatest fear. They must overcome their fear
and crush their misbelief in order to continue to the climax and face their biggest challenge yet, therefore proving their transformation. Now, if you're like, wow, that
sounds exactly like my story, how did you know that? Did you read my notes? Don't worry, I didn't read your notes. That's good that your story flows in the same general direction
of what I just read to you, because that is a
compelling character arc. That is a journey of change, that's the journey of
change I'm talking about. Many, many, many stories
follow this flow for a reason, because story is not about what happens, it's about how it happens, effects, and transforms the characters, that's what makes a story satisfying, that's what makes a story matter. Step one, let's talk about premise. The first thing you have to do is figure out the premise of your story. What is the idea, or the what if? This is like the first
beginnings of your story idea. So if you don't have this, if you have no idea what you
wanna write a story about, start here with this video
to brainstorm a story idea. But chances are, you
already have a story idea and you want to organize it,
and make it more coherent. Create a little bit of an
outline, not too much outlining. Your premise could also
be described as your hook. Oh, you know what'd be cool? Is to write a story about this. That's the idea I'm talking about. Don't worry about making
it too detailed right now, it can be a rough idea, the
roughest of rough ideas. Because you're going to add more detail after you get to know your protagonist. So step two, meet your protagonist. Characters are the most
important part of storytelling. If you can get someone to fall
in love with your characters and relate to them, they'll
want to read everything that happens to these characters. Whether that's a trip to Starbucks or a voyage across the galaxy. And that's why before you
start doing any real outlining, you need to meet your protagonist. Again, this is going to
be a very minimal outline so you don't have to dive too deep into developing your protagonist yet, but you should write down a
few major things about them that will be super
important for your story. Their desire, the thing they want and think will make them happy. Their fear, the thing stopping them from going after the thing
that will make them happy. And their misbelief, the
thing they mistakenly believe is true about the world which
feeds off of their fear. These are always the first three things that I sketch out for my protagonist before I start outlining. Because over the years I've learned this is the lifeblood of storytelling. This is the thing your reader is subconsciously searching for. An internal journey
leading to an aha moment, which will put to death a misbelief that your protagonist
has been holding onto their whole life. Now, let's talk about story structure. And this is the actual outlining part. If you've been here on my
channel for any amount of time you know that I love talking
about story structure. More specifically, the
three act story structure. The three act story structure
is a tried and true, wildly popular, psychologically proven storytelling method
that takes the guesswork out of structuring your novel. In fact, I made a whole video series breaking down the three
act story structure and diving super deep into
why each story beat works, and the brain science behind it all. So if you want to learn more about that definitely check out that series. But for now, we're gonna
keep things really simple, really minimal. And I know that you don't like outlining so we're not gonna go super
deep into anything right here. What I want you to do is start small, with a bullet point outline of the three act story structure. So I'm talking about doing
one line per plot point. Now, if you watch my series
that's really in depth, I'm gonna go super in
depth on each story beat. But I don't want you to do that here, because all you really need to remember is to follow that flow of
character transformation. So your character is starting the story, being pushed outside their comfort zone, making a decision based
on their misbelief. That's act one. Act two, you have the character
going on their journey. So they're meeting obstacles and conflict as they continue to pursue
their fear based goal. You have a plot twist in
the middle of your story, in the middle of act two,
which changes the way that they're going about
pursuing their goal. And then act three, you are building up to a
climax, a final battle. Even if it's not a real battle, they are going to face a confrontation, they're going to face their greatest fear, they're going to have an aha moment once they have their dark moment. Probably a disaster will strike,
they'll have a dark moment, an aha moment of, wow, that's the truth, now they can crush their misbelief, now they can continue to the climax because they have transformed
as a result of their journey. And that's the end, it's literally as simple as that. (Abbie laughing) And as I was just walking through that you were probably thinking of
some of your favorite stories that follow this exact flow. That's no accident. This is tried and true, it's psychologically proven to work, that's why I love it so much. One such example, which I'm
going to show you right here with my outline example of
the bullet point outline is "Jane Eyre". So here we have the
three act story structure bullet point outline for "Jane
Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. Spoiler alert, here's the
whole story in 300 words. Act one, the hook. Jane Eyre is a penniless
orphan child left to the care of her cruel aunt who
sends her away to school. Setup. Jane grows up without love or a home, leaving her no destiny
but to become a governess when she's old enough. Inciting incident. Jane takes a position as governess and goes to Thornfield Hall. Buildup. Jane is eager to meet Mr. Rochester, the master of Thornfield,
and so is the reader. First plot point. Rochester arrives on the scene and throws Jane's world off axis. He's going to change everything for her. First pinch point. Jane observes clues that
Thornfield holds a secret. Blanche Ingram, Rochester's lady friend sparks jealousy in Jane. Act two, pre midpoint reactionary hero. Jane always in pursuit of
love, but feeling herself unworthy of it, finds herself more attracted
to Rochester than ever. Midpoint. Rochester professes his love for Jane, and she accepts his proposal of marriage. Post midpoint action hero. Thanks to the proposal,
Jane's whole life has changed. She feels loved for the
first time in her life. Second pinch point. Jane has a disturbing dream
that leaves her shaken. She senses that the house
and Rochester holds a secret. Act three, supposed victory. Jane and Rochester are this
close to tying the knot when disaster, the secret comes out. Rochester has a wife already, a lunatic who lives at Thornfield. Dark moment. Jane feels betrayed and hopeless. Her fear and misbelief
of never being loved returns to challenge her. She leaves Rochester and
Thornfield bound for nowhere. Aha moment. After being rescued by
her long lost cousins Jane must overcome her misbelief and realize that she is loved. Rochester loves her, and he needs her. Climactic confrontation. Jane returns to Thornfield only to find it burned and in ruins. There was a fire which costs
Mr. Rochester his eyesight, and Mrs. Rochester, her life. Victory. Jane finds Rochester and
promises to never leave his side. Resolution and the end. They all live happily ever after. Boom, that's how Charlotte Bronte would've outlined "Jane Eyre" if she was using my
three act story structure bullet point outline. So now it's your turn. Take this template and write your own bullet point outline for your story. The cool thing is you can keep
this outline super minimal if you want to, or you
can fill in more detail. Like I said, outline as much
as you feel like outlining, there are no rules. You could write "Jane Eyre" off of that 300 word outline
that I just read to you, or you could go crazy like I do, and write a 30,000 word outline. (Annie laughing) I wasn't gonna say that
earlier in the video 'cause I didn't want you
guys to run away screaming, but yeah, I've written like
30,000 word outlines before. But see, that's just, that's my process, that's what works for me. And you need to find your own process. So I hope this video has helped
you to find that process, to discover that process, and
to let yourself discover it. Let yourself outline, just try it. Grab the template below this video. It's called Idea to Outline Story Guide. It's a free, printable
template that you can use to outline your next fabulous story. Now it is time for you to talk to me. Comment below this video and
tell me, are you an outliner, or are you a pantser,
or something in between? Did this video help you? If so, smash that like
button to let me know, and be sure to subscribe to this channel if you haven't already
because I post writing videos and publishing videos
every single Wednesday, and I would love to have
you here in the community. Also, be sure to check out my
Patreon because that's where we go beyond videos and take
storytelling to the next level. The Patreon community
is not only the best way to support what I'm doing here on YouTube, but it's also the only way
to connect one-on-one with me and get guidance, and
advice on your story. So go to patreon.com/abbieemmons, and check out all the
awesome exclusive content I have over there for you. Until next week, my friend, happy outlining, and rock on. (upbeat music) So if you want to outline
your story, but you hate, heh heh, I have hair in my mouth. So here we have our
three act story structure for "Jane Eyre", and spoiler alert, if you do not know this
classic, shame on you. (upbeat music) (Abbie laughing)
