You guys.
WE’RE OFFICIALLY OUTLINING OUR NOVELS! 🎉
Welcome back to Day 23 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️
Yesterday, we talked about turning our major story beats into individual chapters. Today, we’re putting that method into practice by outlining ACT I!
This is where we introduce our protagonists, establish their ordinary worlds, and set everything in motion.
And don’t worry!
We’re not writing a 50-page outline or planning every single conversation our characters will have. 😂
We’re simply figuring out what needs to happen in each chapter so that when November 1st arrives, we have a clear direction.
Let’s get plotting! 💕
1. Start With Your Three Major Act I Story Beats
Remember Day 18, when we mapped out the beginning of our novels?
We identified three important moments:
1. The Opening: Where does your protagonist begin? What does their life look like before everything changes?
2. The Inciting Incident: What event disrupts their life and introduces the central conflict?
3. The Act I Turning Point: What decision or event launches your protagonist into the main story?
These three beats will help guide your Act I outline.
Think of them as the major destinations we’re working toward.
Now we just need to figure out how to get from one to the next!
2. Break Act I Into Individual Chapters
Here’s how I personally approach outlining.
I divide my novels into three acts, with about 12-15 chapters per act.
But that’s simply MY starting point!
Your novel might need fewer or more chapters.
The important thing is figuring out what works for your story.
Start by placing your opening, inciting incident, and Act I turning point into your outline.
Then ask yourself:
- What needs to happen between these major moments?
- What relationships should readers understand?
- What conflicts need to be established?
- What decisions push my protagonist toward the Act I turning point?
For example, imagine you’re writing a contemporary novel about a woman who inherits a struggling seaside café.
Your Act I might look something like this:
Chapter 1: Introduce the protagonist and her current life.
Chapter 2: She learns she’s inherited the café.
Chapter 3: She visits the café and discovers it’s in financial trouble.
Chapter 4: She meets the people who depend on the business.
Chapter 5: She discovers that selling the café would be easier than saving it.
Chapter 6: She decides to stay and try to save the café.
See how each chapter builds toward an important decision?
We’re not planning every little detail.
We’re creating a sequence of events that moves our protagonist into the central conflict.
3. Give Every Chapter a Purpose
Here’s something I want you to remember as you outline.
Every chapter should contribute something meaningful to your story.
That doesn’t mean every chapter needs an enormous plot twist!
Sometimes, a chapter’s purpose is to develop a relationship.
Sometimes, it reveals important information.
Sometimes, it challenges your protagonist’s beliefs.
And sometimes, it’s to introduce a problem that will become much more important later.
When outlining, ask yourself:
“What changes because of this chapter?”
If you can answer that question, you’re giving yourself a reason for the chapter to exist.
4. Use My Simple Three-Bullet-Point Method
If you’ve been following along with my Preptober series, you already know I LOVE keeping things simple!
For each chapter, I write down:
- Chapter Number
- Chapter Goal
- Setting
- Characters
- Three Important Events
For example:
Chapter 3 — The Seaside Café
Goal: The protagonist discovers the café is in worse condition than expected.
Setting: The café.
Characters: Protagonist, café manager.
Three Key Events:
- The protagonist arrives and discovers the café needs extensive repairs.
- The manager reveals how much debt the business has accumulated.
- The protagonist realizes saving the café will be much harder than she imagined.
That’s it!
We know what happens, why it matters, and how it moves the story forward.
And when we start drafting?
We still have plenty of room for creativity!
✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise
Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to pages 21–22: Plotting & Outlining!
Today, we’re outlining Act I.
Step 1: Write down your opening, inciting incident, and Act I turning point.
Step 2: Decide approximately how many chapters you want in Act I.
Step 3: Place your major story beats into your chapter outline.
Step 4: Brainstorm the chapters that connect those moments.
Step 5: For each chapter, identify its goal, setting, characters, and three key events.
And remember, you don’t need to have everything perfectly organized!
You can use the printable chapter templates in the guide, cut them out, and rearrange them as your story develops.
Your outline works for YOU. You don’t work for your outline. 💕
Your Act I Outline Is Taking Shape! 🎉
You guys, look at what we’ve accomplished!
We’ve gone from a collection of story ideas to a chapter-by-chapter plan for the beginning of our novels.
That’s HUGE!
And if you haven’t finished outlining every chapter today?
That’s okay!
You can always come back and fill in the gaps.
The goal is progress, not perfection.
🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!
I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!
Whether you’re a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between, my free Preptober E-Guide is designed to help you organize your ideas without feeling overwhelmed.
Coming Tomorrow: Day 24 — Outline Act II! 🔥
Tomorrow, we’re tackling the MIDDLE of our novels!
We’ll take the obstacles, midpoint, and escalating conflicts we’ve brainstormed and turn them into individual chapters.
And yes, we’re going to do our best to avoid the dreaded sagging middle! 😂
Now I want to hear from YOU!
What’s the most exciting chapter you’ve planned for Act I so far?
Let me know in the comments! 💕
We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️
