1 2 - w e e k

Novel pLan
BY THE PLOTTERY

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HI, I'M CHAR!
I’m a fiction writing coach and a writer! I have a
degree in Filmmaking & Screenwriting, and I’m
currently doing an MA in Creative Writing, up in
the cloudy country of Scotland.

THE PLOTTERY
I started The Plottery in 2021, sharing writing tips & tricks,
and slowly accumulated a strong following of aspiring
writers on instagram. As people came to me asking for
help with their writing struggles, I decided to listen!

Now I coach aspiring writers and teach them how to finish their
novel without the struggles they are used to experiencing.

How does your novel writing

method work?
Because of my background in film studies, my novel planning methods have roots in
writing for screen! In fact - my 1:1 coaching is based on screenwriting foundations, which
is what makes it different from other coaching programs. I believe screenwriting holds
the best secrets to no fluff storytelling, strong plots, vivid characters and natural “show
not tell” methods.

Find out more about my coaching here.

My clients tackle their stories in 3-4 months, and generally come

out the other end with a first draft.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

The secret is in staying organized, consistent and planning your
story properly.

Are you ready to get started? Remember to tag @the.plottery in

your Instagram stories and keep me posted on your progress!

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week 1
THE BASICS

Week one is where you want to focus on setting the ground rules for your
story. You want to know who your story is about, what their goals are, what the
central conflict of your story is, what themes you’re going to tackle, and what
your story is going to look like!

WEEK 1 CHECKLIST:

Premise
1-2 sentences that sum up the main conflict and idea of your story

Fleshed out protagonist

The hero your story will focus on, make sure you give them a distinct voice, and an
external & internal goal (sneak a peek at week 2 for what to include!)

Synopsis
A basic summary of your plot, try to cover your beginning, middle and end

Story themes
The underlying message of your story - remember, you can have more than one!

World-building
Have a good think about how your story world works, even if you're setting it in the
contemporary world. You've got some world-building questions on the next page!

Basic overview of other important characters

Make a list of all the other major characters that will show up in your story

POV
Decide on whose point of view the story will be told from - pro tip: your narrator doesn’t
always have to be the most obvious choice

Story structure
Decide how you’re going to structure your story, in terms of chapters (will you be using
chapters and what length of chapters are you aiming for?), timeline (linear, flashbacks,
etc.), or any other creative structure ideas - (journal entries, e-mails, letters)

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 WORLDBUILDING QUESTIONS
What is the name of your world?

Countries? Territories? Any important cities?

What is the geography like?

What is the climate like?

Who runs the world?

What is the political situation?

What is the economical divide? Have you got any classes?

Are there any minorities? How are they treated?

Are there any religions?

What does a typical day of a commoner look like?

What do people do for entertainment?

Any important recent historic events that impact your current world?

Where do people eat, and what type of food is considered a luxury?

Are there any popular groups or people that act as idols?

What does a typical family look like?

How are children taken care of? Where do they study?

Is there any unique mode of transport?

Any typical animals that show up? Do people keep pets?

week 2
THE CHARACTERS

Last week you fleshed out your protagonist. Now it's time to do the same for
the rest of your cast! Think about the most important characters which are
needed in your story, and then work them out like you did your protagonist.
Any important character needs to be properly fleshed out, so take this week to
make sure ALL of your cast is strong and can stand on their own.

CHARACTER COMPONENTS YOU SHOULD WORK OUT

Quirks
The physical traits that set your character apart, and make them easier to visualize.

Voice
Give your characters a unique voice, their own expressions and tone of speaking. Take
your time with this, it's one of the most important things about your characters!

External Goals
Most of your characters should have an external goal which is always prompted by the
inciting incident of your story. This is something they desire consciously, a goal that
pushes their narrative.

Internal Goals
They should have an internal need - a flaw they need to overcome by the end of the
story, and this "goal" is present with them from the beginning.

Journey Within the Story

Give each of your characters their own character development journey. Write a short
synopsis to make it easier! How do they overcome that flaw?

Significant Relationships
Make a list of each characters most important relationships with the story, and how it
affects them

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 CHARACTER
questionnaire
What is their biggest flaw?

What do they have to learn?

How do they feel at the beginning of the story?

What is their biggest regret at the moment the story begins?

What do they want to achieve?

What was the most pivotal moment in their life?

What purpose do they serve in your story?

What do they hate most?

What do they love most?

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week 3
THE OUTLINE

Now that you have your characters, each of their individual journeys mapped
out, and the basic story idea in your head, it’s time to organize these into a
cohesive outline.

You can use different story structures to help you do this, but I recommend
sticking to the 3-act-structure.

Act 1 should act as your setup, and contain the event that propels your
protagonist into the action of the story. Act 2 should lead your protagonist
through the ups and downs they’ll encounter as they try to reach their external
goal, until they ultimately fail at this. Act 3 makes them realize their internal
goal and they finally succeed in beating the antagonist (or antagonistic forces).

MAKE SURE YOUR STORY HAS:

An Inciting Incident
The event that sets your story in motion

Rising Action
The obstacles and the ups and downs your character will have to fight

A Plot Twist
The point where your hero achieves their external goal, but realizes soon that it's not
what they needed

The Low Point

Your protagonist reaches their lowest point and loses everything

A True Victory
Your protagonist finally faces their issues head on, with a changed mindset

A Resolution
The ending that wraps up all your storylines

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week 4
CHAPTER OVERVIEW

If you’re a plotter and you’d feel safer making sure that you
know a little more about your outline before you dive into
writing, you can craft your own chapter overview.

You do this by going over your outline and naturally

dividing the most important events by how you feel they
might fit best into chapters.

Use the sheets below to write these

out and title your chapters if you wish!

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 MY CHAPTERS
CHAPTER TITLE:

1
CHAPTER SUMMARY:

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2
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 MY CHAPTERS
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 MY CHAPTERS
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week 5
FIRST CHAPTERS

It’s time to get writing! Aim to complete your first 30 pages

this week. (5 pages a day with one day of rest!)

PRO TIP: use my first chapter checklist to

make sure you write an epic opening to
your story!

If writing out of nowhere

scares you, use my template
below to plan out your
chapter before writing it.

PRO TIP: Think of each chapter as a story of its own. It

should have a beginning, middle and end, and it needs to
bring some of sort of change by the end, or reveal some
new information about your story. If it doesn’t do either of
these things, it might not be necessary.

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 MY CHAPTER PLAN
CHAPTER TITLE:

BEGINNING

MIDDLE

END

NOTES SECTION - WHAT I NEED TO COVER IN THIS CHAPTER

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weeks 6-12
Now that you’ve gotten a feel for your story, keep yourself writing!
Repeat the process of planning each chapter as you go (print out a
few copies of the chapter overview for yourself and fill it in before
each chapter to keep yourself on track!).

Aim to write at least 30 pages per week.

PRO TIP
Get a writing buddy to do this with! It’s so much easier to stay inspired and
consistent if you’re doing this with someone to keep you accountable.

Join my discord writers

community to find your buddy!

Use my checklist to keep yourself organized and confident! I

suggest getting a reward at the end of each successful week, and
celebrate each finished chapter!

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 MY PROJECT TRACKER
WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3

Premise
OTHER CHARACTERS MY PLOT
Theme
quirks inciting incident
Protagonist
voice rising action
Important
ext. goals false victory
Characters
int. goals low point
POV
story journey realization
Structure
significant true victory
Visual Style
relationships resolution
Synopsis

WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED:

WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT:

WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9

CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED:

WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT:

WEEK 10 WEEK 11 WEEK 12

CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED: CHAPTERS FINISHED:

WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT: WORDCOUNT:

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 milestone
1k 5k
10k

30k
20k
40k
50k
60k
70k

80k 90k

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WHAT NOW?
You’ve finished week 12 and you have a massive chunk of
writing! You might have even completed your first full draft.

Congratulations!!!

If you’ve come this far and you now have a hefty manuscript sitting on your
desk, here are my suggestions for next steps:

Take a quick break from the project - this will allow you some time to refill
your idea juices and re-energize! You’ll also be able to clear your head and
come back to your project with a fresh perspective. But don’t take too much
time off! The longer you stay away, the harder it will be to get back to it.

Ask a trusted friend or a book coach to do an alpha read of your first draft
(an alpha reader knows this is your very first draft and their only purpose in
reading it is to identify any glaring issues in content, plot and character and
to point this out to you!)

Go back to your project with a clear head and read it from start to finish,
mark down any comments you have on future changes you’ll want to
tackle (pro-tip: change the font and print it out! This changes the way you
see your project, so you might be able to spot the mistakes easier)

Make a new plan of action! (go over all the comments you left yourself -
chapter by chapter - and make an overview of all the issues you need to
resolve in your second draft)

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 Enjoyed this booklet?
This strategy will help you with organizing your approach to writing,
but writing is a skill you need to keep working on consistently, and
a book plan will only take you so far.

If you want to take this further and work with me 1:1, ahoot me an e-
mail at char@the-plottery.com

What my 1:1 clients say

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