Jabrosky's Story Skeleton Template

[Jabrosky]

I designed the following template for a creative writing class I took last year. I had short stories in mind when setting it up, but maybe a novelist might find use for it too.

Core Idea: This is the premise that lies at the core of my story. It can take the form of an elevator pitch, a what-if question, or anything else describing the original inspiration.

Setting: Summary of the world this story takes place in.

Protagonist: This is my hero (or antihero). Sketch out back-story, appearance, personality, or any other important details about the main character.

Problem: This is equivalent to what writers and literary scholars usually call conflict. I give the protagonist something that gets in the way of whatever goal they're trying to achieve, or otherwise something that spurs them to act.

Initial Reaction: This is how my protagonist first tries to tackle the problem once he confronts it. Usually these early efforts fail.

Complications: These are what make the main problem more difficult for my protagonist, thus amplifying the dramatic tension.

Final Solution: This is how my protagonist finally addresses the problem. Either they succeed and the story ends happily, or they fail and I have a tragedy.

Conclusion: This is the denouement, or the tying up of loose ends after the story's main problem has been sold.

 

[Jabrosky]

This doesn't address the skeletal outline in my OP, but I needed a place to vent a continuing frustration about my writing process.

Every time I try to outline a story, whether a short one or a novel, I always end up with plot holes that trip the whole design and send it crashing down into pieces. I believe this is one of the major contributors to my persistent failure to finish longer projects. Is this a normal problem for writers? Is it even possible to write a larger story without plot holes?

 

[Penpilot]

All stories have plot holes. No matter how hard you try somebody will find one. The only thing you can do is try to plug as many as you can. If your story is engaging and your plot holes small, people tend not to notice, and even when they do, they'll be more forgiving.

I just recently found this youtube channle called Cinema Sins. The channel basically nitpicks the hell out of movies. No matter how good the movie is the guy will find flaws. Flaws consist of plot holes, overused cliches, continuity errors, and just some plain old unbelievable BS that kicks a person out of the story. Check it out. The videos are generally short and pretty amusing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/CinemaSins/videos

 

[Jabrosky]

All stories have plot holes. No matter how hard you try somebody will find one. The only thing you can do is try to plug as many as you can. If your story is engaging and your plot holes small, people tend not to notice, and even when they do, they'll be more forgiving.

I've come to this conclusion too. So long as humans have fallible thought patterns and limited knowledge, they will tell imperfect stories. The trick is knowing which imperfections need patching up.

 

[Penpilot]

I've come to this conclusion too. So long as humans have fallible thought patterns and limited knowledge, they will tell imperfect stories. The trick is knowing which imperfections need patching up.

Yeah for sure, but also, people are imperfect in their decision making in real life. They never see all the options and miss obvious solutions. There are times when I've done something really stupid only to realize an obvious solution was staring me in the face but I made the mistake instead. These brain farts are accepted in real life without any sort of set up or reason, but in fiction, not so much.

I guess what I'm saying is real life is full of plot holes.