The Plot Outline

H o w t o s t r u c t u r e a

s h o r t s t o r y

W h e n W r i t i n g a

s h o r t s t o r y ,

a u t h o r s f o l l o w

t h e p l o t o u t l i n e

t o g i v e t h e i r

s t o r i e s

s t r u c t u r e .

R e a d t h e

N a r r a t i v e o n

t h e f o l l o w i n g

p a g e s t o s e e

h o w t h e p a r t s

o f a s t o r y c a n

b e b r o k e n d o w n

a c c o r d i n g t o

t h e p l o t o u t l i n e

·

M

Resolution

Initial Conflict

Rising

Act

ion

Falling Action

Exposition

R i s i n g A c t i o n

Exposition

“Take it back!” Taylor screamed. Caught up in the moment, I

knew there was no way I could, without looking like an idiot. How

could I possibly do that, with everyone staring at me with that oh-

no-she-didn’t look on their faces? Yet, I knew that the damage

was done. How would she ever forgive me? How would I ever

forgive myself?

It all began the summer before our freshman year of high school.

We had been best friends, doing everything together that summer.

Taylor was always at my house, avoiding hers due to her parents’

incessant fighting-fights over her father’s infidelity -an infidelity

that was made only more humiliating because her father was the

town’s police chief. Her mother was crushed, bruised, and impos-

sible to be around. So Taylor hid out at my house that summer,

sheltering herself from the reality that was her current life, under

strict orders from her parents to keep their family issues under

wraps due to her father’s prominence in the community. From the

pool to the sleepovers, Taylor and I were inseparable...

Introduces Characters

Provides the setting

Sets the mood

Leads reader to the initial incident

Page 3

….Inseparable until he came along.

His name was Justin, and in my eyes

he was perfect: a veritable Adonis, who all

summer, I had admired from afar. Taylor

knew how I felt about him. How couldn’t

she after I spent hours gushing over his

blue eyes and sandy blonde hair ad nause-

um? But, he was a soon-to-be junior, and

I was just a lowly, upcoming freshman;

there was no way he would ever notice

me.

Initial Incident

This event sets the story in motion.

Without it, the plot has no place to go.

Think of it as the Titanic hitting the

iceberg.

R i s i n g Ac t i o n

Page 4

Then it happened. As I was nonchalantly, but not so nonchalantly buying my 345th

freeze pop at the pool snack bar where he worked, attempting to yet again conceal my utter

lust for him, Justin actually stuck up a conversation with me.

“Heh,” he said. “Uh…. Heh,” I replied as I collected my blue raspberry freeze pop and

change.

Buoyed by his overwhelming affection, I did one of those try-to-look-cool-when-you’re-

really-freaking-out-inside walks back to my towel where Taylor sat reading the Hunger Games

for the 5th time. “He noticed me!” I screamed as my newly purchased but now forgotten freeze

pop escaped its plastic shell and landed in a blue puddle on page 56 of the her book.

“What is wrong with you? she screamed. Yet, after she saw the excitement in my eyes,

she allowed me to recap my conversation with Justin, as if he had just proffered a marriage

proposal.

Before that summer ended, I had experienced countless similarly verbose

conversations with Justin at the snack bar. Sometimes he said “heh.” Other times it was

“yo.” Often, it was just a telling smile, revealing to me that he was just as much in love as I

was. Each time, I recounted the play by play to Taylor, expecting her to listen with baited

breath as I spoke.

Finally summer ended and the monotony of the school year began. Taylor and I only

had one class together, so we had to converse as we passed in the hall or through text

messages that we surreptitiously hid from our unsuspecting teachers. It was one of those

quick passings in the hall that led to the words that will resonate in my heart for the rest of my

life.

As I saw Taylor approaching, I ran to her, anxious to tell her that I had just passed

Justin in the hallway and he had said, “Hey, freeze-pop girl.” Ignoring the distraught look on

her face, I rambled on and on, oblivious to the inner turmoil Taylor was experiencing.

Apparently, unbeknownst to me, Taylor had heard my inane, love-struck drivel one too many

times, and she exploded with a rage-filled, “I don’t give a crap about your stupid “boyfriend”

Justin. He doesn’t like you, he’s just being friendly!”

Creates the suspense

and explains the

conflict

Blinded by embarrassment, I retaliated with my

own blistering diatribe. “What is wrong with you?

Just because your cop father is screwing around

with all the women in town is no reason to humiliate

me!”

Page 5

C l i m a x

Falling action

M

Highest Point of

Emotional Intensity

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished they had stayed suspended in a word cloud that I had the pow-

er to delete like the misspelled words on a computer screen. The look on Taylor’s face made it obvious that my wish

was impossible. I had broken and embarrassed her-all because of a dumb boy. As I stood there, I couldn’t escape

the feeling overtaking me. It began to eat at the pit of my stomach. It was like a blister forming on the side of my toe

being made worse by my most uncomfortable shoes. I would always feel it - always know it was there. Remem-

brance of what I had just said in that moment of anger began to haunt me. Will I ever be forgiven? Will I ever be able

to forget? Will this feeling ever leave that part of my stomach or will its memory constantly hurt, like that blister, af-

fecting my ability to walk, to think, to breathe. I couldn’t stop reliving that moment, those words, over and over, and I

wished that I could take it back – maybe get a mulligan, a do-over, a chance to make this wrong a right.

A few weeks passed with no words between me and Taylor. I had destroyed our friendship by demanding

her constant attention and ignoring her pain. Those times I passed her in the hallway she kept her head down in si-

lence; no more of her secret texts were delivered to my phone. I felt smothered by despair and regret.

Plot begins to wind down.

Conflict is coming to a

resolution

Resolution

It was the end of May, and another school year was soon over; I

both looked forward to and dreaded the freedom of the summer days

ahead. The thought of a summer alone without Taylor was depressing.

Memorial Day brought the opening of the pool, and my new babysitting

job saw me attempting to entertain a challenging three year old. As I

sat on the side of the pool, watching the young hooligan, I felt a tap on

my shoulder. I turned around to see Taylor, blue raspberry icy treat in

hand, asking, “You want this freeze-pop girl?”

Brings t

he story

to a

close

Conflict is

reso

lved

When you write your short story,

make sure to follow the plot outline.

Without it, your story will lack the

necessary structure to be a

successful narrative.