Developing a Story Outline
Probably the best way to write a novel is to write the ending first.
This is the approach used by John Irving (The World According to Garp, Cyder House Rules, other).
Endings are hard - in fact, the hardest part of developing a powerful novel. Irving’s idea was to determine how the story is to end, and then work backwards from there, outlining the story using the THREE ACT PLAY formula. That formula, developed for screenwriting, provides a neat way to chart the dynamics of a storyline, with building tensions leading up to dramatic resolutions and character development, which is mostly what fiction writing is all about.
Three Acts
The three-act structure is a model used in narrative fiction that divides a story into three parts (acts), often called the Setup, the Confrontation, and the Resolution. It was popularized by Syd Field in his 1979 book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Based on his recommendation that a play have a “beginning, middle, and end,” the structure has been falsely attributed to Aristotle, who in fact argued for a two-act structure consisting of a “complication” and “denouément” split by a peripeteia.
The first act, or opening narration, is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their relationships, and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic incident occurs, known as the inciting incident or catalyst that confronts the main character (the protagonist). The protagonist’s attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation known as the first plot point which signals the end of the first act.
The second act also referred to as rising action typically depicts the protagonist’s attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point only to find themselves in ever-worsening situations. Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is that they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of antagonism that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of in order to deal with their predicament which in turn changes who they are. This is referred to as character development or a character arc. This cannot be achieved alone and they are usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-protagonists.
The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots.