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.
Top Related