In my last blog I mentioned that I will be writing a blog about which templates I use for my books. So here it is!
I have written a few types of books (novella, poetry collection, and novel) and each use a totally different template. This blog will cover templates for only novels (specifically fictional romance novels). I have learned about a few templates from other writers, however, as I have developed my own books I have tweaked previous templates and created my own.
First off, what exactly is a novel? A novel is a well developed book that is from 40,000 to 110,000 words long. Each novel can be different in size, wording, editing, theme, style, etc. For contemporary romance novels I have used the following template; however, depending on the genre of novel, the templates can differ.
Contemporary Romance Novel -
First things first, develop two strong main characters. For these characters make sure there is a conflict (external/internal) for both of them and between them. For example, in my latest novel (Lost in Los Angeles) the main female character's internal conflict is self doubt and the male's conflict is the lack of emotional vulnerability. The conflict between the two character's is their promise to one another. In other words, you have to start off with a conflict.
Next, create 2/5 secondary characters. These characters can be ex girlfriends/boyfriends, friends, family, etc. They do not have to have an internal or external conflict (within themselves) however, at least one of these characters should have a conflict with one of the main characters.
For the outline of my novels, I start off by figuring out which character I want to focus on the most then deciding what conflicts they should encounter. The climax of your story should be where you main character has an epiphany or realization. The climax does not need to be at the middle of the novel. This is the most important part of the novel. Make sure that there is conflict and development leading up to the conflict.
Now there is the resolution. This part of the book helps to satisfy the reader. In this part, clean up the loose ends and resolve the conflicts. For example, if you are writing a romance novel this would be the part where the couple announces their love for each other. The resolution is directly after the climax.
It is important to clean up all loose ends in a novel. In other words, make sure that all story lines have been dealt with, you do not want you reader confused at the end.
The most important part of a romance novel outline is making sure the development of each (main) character leads to a powerful climax then is resolved and satisfied by the resolution (or falling events).
For a more in depth detail of the templates I use, please email me @laurensilverbooks@gmail.com. I sell my template at the cost of 10$.
Please comment below if you plan on using this template/outline for your next novel!
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