Free story planning templates

Story bible

World notes for one story: place, time, rules, power and history, plus a running list of facts you must keep consistent.

STORY BIBLE: WORLD NOTES
Story title:
Premise in one or two sentences:

PLACE
Where does the story happen? (a city, a ship, a valley, one building)
Three concrete details someone would notice at street level:
1.
2.
3.
What does it sound and smell like?

TIME
When is it set? (year, season, era)
How much time does the story cover?

RULES
What is true here that is not true in our world? (magic, technology, law, custom)
What does each rule cost, and who cannot afford it?
What is forbidden, and who enforces it?

PEOPLE AND POWER
Who is in charge? Who wants to be?
Who does the hard work nobody sees?
What do most people believe that is not true?

HISTORY
What happened before the story starts that still matters?
What does everyone remember differently?

DAILY LIFE
What does a normal day look like for your main character?
What does it cost to eat, travel and stay warm?

CONTINUITY LOG (fill in as you write)
Place names:
Minor characters and one detail each:
Facts already stated that must stay true:

Download Story bible (.txt)

Character sheet

One page per important character: what they want, what they need, what they fear, and how they change.

CHARACTER SHEET
Name:
Age:
Role in the story: (main character, rival, ally, mentor, antagonist)
One-line description:

ON THE SURFACE
What do people notice first?
How do they talk? A phrase they use often:
What do they do for a living, and are they good at it?

UNDERNEATH
What do they want? (something concrete they can win or lose)
What do they need? (what would actually change them)
What are they afraid of?
What do they believe about themselves that is not true?
What would they never do? (then find the scene where they do it)

HISTORY
Where did they grow up?
The one event from their past that shaped them most:
Who do they owe? Who owes them?

RELATIONSHIPS
Name:            How they feel about them:            What they hide from them:
Name:            How they feel about them:            What they hide from them:
Name:            How they feel about them:            What they hide from them:

IN THE STORY
Where are they at the start?
Where are they at the end?
The scene that changes them:

CONTINUITY
Appearance, scars, habits, things they always carry:

Download Character sheet (.txt)

Chapter outline

A 12-chapter outline with one goal per chapter. Delete the chapters you do not need.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
Story title:
Number of chapters: (1 to 12 works well for a novella or short novel)
Point of view: (first person, close third, or rotating)
The ending in one sentence:

For each chapter, write a title and one goal: what has changed by the last page.

CHAPTER 1
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 2
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 3
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 4
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 5
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 6
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 7
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 8
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 9
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 10
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 11
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

CHAPTER 12
Title:
Goal:
Starts with:
Ends with:

BEFORE YOU WRITE
Does every chapter end somewhere different from where it started?
Is the main character making choices, not only reacting?
Is there anything you set up that never pays off?

Download Chapter outline (.txt)

Plot structure

A four-part shape for checking a story before you outline chapters, with roughly a quarter of the story in each part.

PLOT STRUCTURE: FOUR PARTS
Use this to check the shape of a story before you outline chapters.
Each part is roughly a quarter of the story.

PART 1: SETUP (the first quarter)
Normal life: what does the main character's world look like at the start?
The problem that is already there:
The event that cannot be ignored:
The first decision: what do they choose to do about it?

PART 2: COMPLICATION (to the halfway point)
What is different now?
Allies and opponents:
First attempts: what do they try, and why does it not work?
Midpoint: what do they learn that changes the meaning of everything so far?

PART 3: ESCALATION (to the three-quarter point)
The new plan after the midpoint:
The rising cost: what does chasing the goal now put at risk?
The low point: what is lost?

PART 4: RESOLUTION (the last quarter)
The final decision: what do they choose when it counts?
The climax: where and how is the main conflict settled?
The final picture: how is their life different from the start?

ONE-LINE CHECK
[Character] wants [goal], but [obstacle], so they [action], which leads to [ending].

Download Plot structure (.txt)

Using them with WriteForYou

WriteForYou builds a world, a cast and an outline from your premise, and you review them before chapter 1 is written. These templates help before that, to decide what you want, and after, to keep track of what is true in your story.