How to use structure if you’re a discovery writer.
I’m running an experiment over the next few months. As a discovery writer, I find it difficult to follow structure and impossible to go back and impose structure on what I’ve already written. So, I’ve decided on a hybrid method for my next project.
My goal is to actually finish a complete draft without having too much rewriting and restructuring to do. Let’s just say, my past attempts have been messy at best.
So, here’s my strategy: First, I find a 27-chapter outline from one of many sources online. (Seriously a ton of people are promoting this structure on YouTube and other social media platforms. Just do a google search). I have a general idea of where I want my protagonists to end up, his or her internal conflict, and setting. I plan to mirror the exterior or plot conflict on his or her internal one, so the resolution feels more satisfying. This is typically the case, but I state this for my own edification. Then instead of mapping out each event, I will type out the 27-chapter outline, look at what is supposed to happen in the chapter I’m writing and what is expected to occur in the next one, and then start writing. The sets of 9 chapters seem to fall into blocks of three. The first sets up an event or action, the next the characters arc and where the action of the conflict occurs, and the third is the reaction/fallout.
The 27-chapter structure breaks the book into three acts. Each act contains nine chapters, which feels a little heavy for Act I, but that may depend on the genre as well. The basic structure is as follows:
Chapter one introduces the protagonist’ in their ‘s normal life and the normal world and hints at the internal or external conflict. AKA what is the lie he or she believes about themselves or the world around them.
Chapter two is where the inciting incident takes place. According to Jeff Gerke in Plot vs. Character, the inciting indecent or “event… ends [sic] up being individually tailored for the hero.”1 This event will push your character out of their comfort zone and into the conflict that will force them to face their lie and choose to reject it or not.
Chapter three is the fallout from the inciting incident. How does the inciting incident change the protagonist and the world around them? How does this force them to address the internal and external conflict?
Chapter four allows the protagonist and other characters to seek advice and make plans on how to move forward. If the story has a mentor figure, introduce them here.
Chapter five: the protagonist and friends attempt to act on the decision made in chapter four but are met with their first obstacle.
Chapter six is where we see the consequences of the conflict in chapter five or the fallout from their failure to overcome the antagonistic forces in their path. It’s not time for that yet. They have much more to learn about themselves and their world before they are ready to take on the antagonist. The protagonist must reject the lie he or she clings to in order to succeed though he or she is still clinging to the lie and hoping it will solve the problem chapter two created in his or her life.
Chapter seven raises the stakes for the protagonists and other characters. We’re getting close to the end of Act I and the first plot point or plot twist. This serves to derail the protagonist’s goals. Your characters will make plans on how to deal with this new twist.
Chapter eight presents the action of this new plan. The characters lose. This is the first major setback for the protagonist and friends. Before this, he or she was still reacting to the inciting incident.
Chapter nine closes out the first act. Act II will thrust the characters into a new world and a series of failures before finding successes as the protagonist and friends press toward their goal(s). [I keep assuming there will be friends. Most often your protagonists will not be alone in their journey, but they may be]. Chapter nine is the “Push Forward.” The protagonist realizes the only way home is forward and begins to assess what he or she has learned so far and enters the trials that wait for them in Act II. A good example of this is the forming of the Fellowship of the Ring in Lord of the Rings.
Chapter ten thrusts the characters (protagonist and friends) into a “New World” as it is called. There is much to be learned in this new land, and the characters will begin to explore it and be tested by it. It can be a literal new world or simply describe the increased conflict and stakes that your protagonist faces. Either way, he or she is not messing around anymore and must start to take this journey serious.
Chapter eleven is the action portion of this mini arc. Whatever decisions or plans made by the characters in chapter ten will be put into motion here. Think of Act II as Heracles’s trials. For the first half, the characters will fail to achieve their goal but gain important information and meet important allies along the way.
Chapter twelve juxtaposes the world the protagonists came from in Act I (aka the Shire) with the world they find themselves in now (aka following Gollum about in a doomed attempt to find Mount Doom). Whatever goal that is set in eleven has blown up in your characters’ faces and now your protagonist is tempted to fall back on old ways (aka the lie they’ve clung to) in hopes that will offer a solution. The Protagonist will give into fear and ignore what has been learned so far.
Chapter thirteen presents us with the crisis portion of Act II. The character(s) will discover some truth about the new world and/or each other that will raise the stakes of the overall conflict once again. Maybe your characters begin to doubt each other or learn something or experience something that will pull them closer or push them apart. This will set up some action in the next chapter.
Chapter fourteen is the story’s midpoint. This is a major turning point for the protagonist and friends. This takes the form of a major setback in the protagonist’s march toward achieving their goals.
Chapter fifteen is otherwise known as the reversal. Something or someone is not what/who they appear to be, and the protagonists (and friends) must learn to adapt to the new circumstances. The protagonists must reevaluate his or her goals and fears in order to succeed.
Chapter sixteen: The protagonists and friends must face the consequences of chapters thirteen though fifteen. They also may uncover new information about the conflict, antagonist, or themselves that will help them move forward.
Chapter seventeen presents the protagonist with trials to test the knowledge gained so far. The protagonist and friends will form a new plan, in light of the major setback and reversal of chapter fourteen. They have learned much and will use that knowledge to move forward. (FYI this is the Action portion of this mini arc).
Chapter eighteen wraps up Act II and begins to set up the climax of Act III. The protagonist and friends regroup and learn new information or acquire new skills needed to face the internal and external conflict head on in Act III.
Chapter nineteen opens Acts III. This chapter is often called “the calm before the storm.” Things have been going pretty well up to this point. This chapter is setting up the dark moment in chapter twenty-one and the climax in chapter twenty-five. The protagonist is now fully aware of the stakes, conflict, and what he or she must do to win and will start making plans to that end.
Chapter twenty is the second plot twist. As the protagonists and friends are preparing for the final conflict, something or someone gets in their way, and they are veered off course once again. This is often a major setback or defeat that leads into the protagonist’s “dark moment.” Whatever happens here deflates the confidence the protagonist was coasting on to this point, and he or she no longer believes in success.
Chapter twenty-one: the dark moment. Also called the “all is lost” moment, where your protagonist and friends wrestle with the strength to go on, face the antagonists, and themselves. Here the protagonist faces the lie he or she embraced at the beginning of the story and wants to go back but has learned too much to do so. The protagonist will wrestle with this lie and choose to move forward.
Chapter twenty-two shows the protagonist the power within and refuses to give up. This chapter acts as a setup chapter for the protagonist and friends to face the coming climax.
Chapter twenty-three: The main character(s) gain new insight into themselves and embrace the truth and reject the internal lie and takes a significant action that will lead them into conflict. [Sam: “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.” Return of the King].
Chapter twenty-four: The Convergence. The protagonist and friends gather their strength before the battle.
Chapter twenty-five comprises the first half of the battle between protagonist and antagonistic forces and sets up the climax.
Chapter twenty-six: the climax and highest point of tension. All the stakes and trials lead to this point and are finally resolved. The protagonist defeats the antagonist (if the story arc is positive) and the characters and story find resolution.
Chapter twenty-seven resolves the theme, conflict, and the protagonist’s internal arc of change. The protagonist fully rejects the lie and acts upon or embraces the truth. And if this is a Hero’s Journey, returns home.
- From KM Weiland’s Creating Character Arcs… pg.69 she quotes Jeff Gerke. ↩︎
- Ryan Jimenez 27-Chapter Novel Writing: A Guide | by Ryan Jimenez, LPT, MAELS | Medium 2023 ↩︎
- George Thomas on 3 Mar 2018 The 27 Chapter Outline Workbook ↩︎
- K.M. Weiland Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author’s Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development. 2016 ↩︎
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