How to use diagrams in your outline

Sure, you can outline in a word document using bullet points, or you can keep track of characters and scenes in a spreadsheet, but what else can you do?

One of the most helpful ways to think about characters is called a character map, which shows the interactions between characters.  Here’s a simple one from Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities:

Here is another one, a character map for my favorite book, Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.

---

You can also create diagrams for one single character, sometimes called a “mind map” of all the things that describe a character.  Images can be helpful.  Here’s one for Harry Potter.

---

Another type of helpful diagram is a plot diagram.  Here are a few from around the internet that break up some popular movies into the standard three-act structure.

Your plot may not actually follow this structure, and that’s OK.  As long as it’s a good read, you can do whatever you want.  The point is that diagramming it can lead to insight into how to outline or edit your story.

Here’s the structure for The Matrix (above) and Thelma and Louise (below) for some examples.

Hopefully these examples will give you some ideas about how you can think about outlining and editing your story visually, as well as with the more standard spreadsheets and bullet-point outlines.  Now back to writing!