When to use
Use this when you have a story idea and need a load-bearing skeleton — premise, shape, escalating beats, and stakes — before you write prose. Best for short stories, novels, and screenplays where structure will save you from a saggy middle.
Not for: building a single character (use cw-character), drafting a specific scene (use cw-scene), inventing the setting's rules (use cw-worldbuilding), or line-level fixes (use cw-edit-pass).
Method
- Write the premise in one sentence: [protagonist] wants [goal] but [obstacle], so [action], at the risk of [cost]. Decision point: if there is no cost, add one — a story with nothing to lose has no engine.
- Name the dramatic question the ending answers yes/no (Will she escape? Will he forgive?). Everything must bend toward it.
- Pick a structure that fits scope. Decision point: short story → single try/fail arc; novel/film → three acts with a midpoint reversal. Do not force five acts on a 2,000-word piece.
- Set the four turns: inciting incident (world breaks), first-act break (commit, no return), midpoint (win-that-costs or loss-that-reveals), and climax (final test of the flaw).
- Draft beats between turns as causal, not sequential — each beat should read "therefore" or "but," never "and then." Decision point: if two adjacent beats join with "and then," collapse or reorder them.
- Escalate stakes per act: personal → relational → existential, so the risk grows even if the plot slows.
- Write the ending's emotional beat before the middle. Knowing the destination keeps beats aimed.
Example
Premise: "A grieving cartographer wants to map a coast that erased her sister's village, but the sea keeps redrawing it, so she stops mapping land and starts mapping loss — at the risk of never letting go." Question: Will she accept the map can't be finished? Inciting: a new survey contract. First-act break: she burns the official charts. Midpoint: she finds her sister's own map (win-that-costs — it's incomplete too). Climax: she leaves the last inch blank on purpose.
Pitfalls
- Episodic beats connected by "and then" instead of causal "therefore/but."
- A midpoint that is just more of act one — it must reverse direction or reveal information.
- Stakes stated but never raised; act three should risk more than act one.
- Outlining so exhaustively that discovery dies — leave scenes room to surprise you.
Output format
PREMISE (1 sentence): <who wants what but obstacle, so action, at risk of cost>
DRAMATIC QUESTION: <yes/no question the ending answers>
STRUCTURE: <try-fail | 3-act | other>
ACT I — Inciting: <...> First-act break: <...>
ACT II — Midpoint reversal: <...>
ACT III— Climax: <...> Resolution: <...>
BEATS (causal):
1. <beat> [therefore/but]
2. ...
STAKES LADDER: personal <...> → relational <...> → existential <...>
ENDING EMOTIONAL BEAT: <...>
1---2name: cw-story-outline3description: Outline a story from premise through structure, beats, and stakes before drafting.4---56## When to use78Use this when you have a story idea and need a load-bearing skeleton — premise, shape, escalating beats, and stakes — before you write prose. Best for short stories, novels, and screenplays where structure will save you from a saggy middle.910**Not for:** building a single character (use cw-character), drafting a specific scene (use cw-scene), inventing the setting's rules (use cw-worldbuilding), or line-level fixes (use cw-edit-pass).1112## Method13141. Write the premise in one sentence: [protagonist] wants [goal] but [obstacle], so [action], at the risk of [cost]. Decision point: if there is no cost, add one — a story with nothing to lose has no engine.152. Name the dramatic question the ending answers yes/no (Will she escape? Will he forgive?). Everything must bend toward it.163. Pick a structure that fits scope. Decision point: short story → single try/fail arc; novel/film → three acts with a midpoint reversal. Do not force five acts on a 2,000-word piece.174. Set the four turns: inciting incident (world breaks), first-act break (commit, no return), midpoint (win-that-costs or loss-that-reveals), and climax (final test of the flaw).185. Draft beats between turns as causal, not sequential — each beat should read "therefore" or "but," never "and then." Decision point: if two adjacent beats join with "and then," collapse or reorder them.196. Escalate stakes per act: personal → relational → existential, so the risk grows even if the plot slows.207. Write the ending's emotional beat before the middle. Knowing the destination keeps beats aimed.2122## Example2324Premise: "A grieving cartographer wants to map a coast that erased her sister's village, but the sea keeps redrawing it, so she stops mapping land and starts mapping loss — at the risk of never letting go." Question: Will she accept the map can't be finished? Inciting: a new survey contract. First-act break: she burns the official charts. Midpoint: she finds her sister's own map (win-that-costs — it's incomplete too). Climax: she leaves the last inch blank on purpose.2526## Pitfalls2728- Episodic beats connected by "and then" instead of causal "therefore/but."29- A midpoint that is just more of act one — it must reverse direction or reveal information.30- Stakes stated but never raised; act three should risk more than act one.31- Outlining so exhaustively that discovery dies — leave scenes room to surprise you.3233## Output format3435```36PREMISE (1 sentence): <who wants what but obstacle, so action, at risk of cost>37DRAMATIC QUESTION: <yes/no question the ending answers>38STRUCTURE: <try-fail | 3-act | other>3940ACT I — Inciting: <...> First-act break: <...>41ACT II — Midpoint reversal: <...>42ACT III— Climax: <...> Resolution: <...>4344BEATS (causal):451. <beat> [therefore/but]462. ...4748STAKES LADDER: personal <...> → relational <...> → existential <...>49ENDING EMOTIONAL BEAT: <...>50```
Matrixx0070