[NOTE: This post was published to my newsletter audience in Oct-2026 and I am just now getting this posted on my blog page. Sorry for the delay. The second half of 2025 was busy! If you want to get these IMMEDIATELY, please sign up for my monthly newsletter below]
Hey, crew!
Last month I shared PART 1 of this novel template series with 5 stellar template options. Well now, with a month to go before you start your 2025 NANWRIMO journey, I’ll share the next 5 of the Top 10 novel structures I’ve come across.
So, let’s get started!
Snowflake Method
The Snowflake is a stepwise expansion: one-sentence → one-paragraph → one-page → character sheets → full scene list, and it’s tailor-made for methodical planners. There are free Snowflake templates (Google Docs / spreadsheets) and Campfire/Plotting sites provide downloadable modules so you can do each snowflake step in a tidy file. I love it for taking a messy idea and turning it into a structured scaffold you can fill in over days or weeks. The downside is it’s ceremonious: some writers feel it saps spontaneity because you “design” everything before you write. But for complicated plots and multicharacter stories, the Snowflake really saves time during revision. If you like working in layers and hate the blank page, the Snowflake template will become your trusty ritual.
| Pros: | Cons: | Best genres: |
| Scalable, methodical, great for complex plotting. | Can feel rigid or slow for discovery writers. | Sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, any multi-thread plot. |
Snowflake Method Templates
Seven-Point Structure
The Seven-Point takes you from the Hook to the Resolution with clear midpoints and pinch points; it’s tidy and perfect for reverse plotting (start at the climax and work backwards). Plottr, GoTeenWriters, and other template libraries provide downloadable Seven-Point templates, often as Google Sheets or app templates so you can rearrange beats visually. It’s a great hybrid: focused on plot-turns but flexible enough to preserve character color. The small gotcha is that writers sometimes treat the seven points like a checklist and forget transitions and texture between the big beats. But if you need a clean map to guarantee your midpoint and resolution payoffs land correctly, it’s brilliant. It’s especially useful for genre fiction where mechanical turning points power the story.
| Pros: | Cons: | Best genres: |
| Clean, reversable plotting; good midpoint management. | Risk of “checklist plotting” and neglected connective tissue. | Mysteries, thrillers, plot-heavy sci-fi/fantasy, commercial fiction. |
Seven-Point Structure Templates
Story Grid Spreadsheet
Story Grid is less a beat checklist and more a diagnostic spreadsheet — it helps you analyze scenes, values, genre conventions, and whether your scenes are actually doing the jobs they should. The official Story Grid site offers downloadable spreadsheets and tools you can copy and use to tag every scene for value shifts, conventions, and genre obligations. If you’re mid-draft and feeling blind about where your book is weak, the Story Grid template gives you an objective, almost forensic way to fix it. It’s heavier on analysis than initial plotting, so it’s less fun for first-time outlining and more a revision powerhouse. Expect a learning curve, but once you learn the columns, it becomes the best tool for making scenes functional and dramatic. Use it when your draft feels uneven or you want to write to genre expectations with surgical precision.
| Pros: | Cons: | Best genres: |
| Deep, analytical, excellent for revision and genre diagnosis. | Steeper learning curve; more analysis than creative outline at first. | All genres (especially genre fiction where conventions matter), good for revision. |
Story Grid Templates
One-Page Novel / One-Page Plot Formula
The One-Page Novel template is geniusly simple: condense your whole story (goal, conflict, twist, ending) onto one page, then expand scenes from that spine — and free Google Docs / Scrivener templates exist so you can literally start with a single page and build out. That one-page discipline forces you to make your protagonist’s goal and stakes crisp before you get lost in subplots. The template is perfect for people who love a minimal, agile outline and who want something portable to stick on a corkboard. The downside is you may need additional scene templates or beat tools to actually write a full draft, but that’s a small ask. Use it when you want a lean mission statement for your book and an outline you can mentally hold. It’s delightful for single-thread plots.
| Pros: | Cons: | Best genres: |
| Super concise, great for clarity and fast outlining. | Super concise, great for clarity and fast outlining. | Literary, crisp thrillers, lean commercial fiction. |
One-Page Novel / One-Page Plot Templates
Scene & Sequel / Scene Templates
Scene & Sequel isn’t a 3-act macro plan so much as a microstructure for every scene: goal → conflict → disaster (scene), reaction → decision (sequel), and there are downloadable scene/sequel checklists and scene templates you can print or use in Plottr. Those templates keep your scene-level writing tight: every scene must have a visible goal, opposing force, and a clear emotional consequence. Using the scene/sequel template will rapidly reduce flabby scenes and make transitions feel purposeful. The con is that if you only use scene templates without a larger plot map, you can end up with brilliantly constructed scenes that don’t cohere into a larger narrative. But combined with any macro template (three-act, 27-chapter, Save the Cat), scene/sequel checklists are the secret sauce for scene quality. Writers who want to get better line-by-line should start here.
| Pros: | Cons: | Best genres: |
| Makes each scene purposeful; improves moment-to-moment drama. | Needs to be paired with macro structure to ensure whole-book cohesion. | All genres — especially those that rely on tight scenework (thrillers, literary, romance). |
Scene & Sequel
Well, how about that? 10 great novel structure options to help you get started on that novel you’ve always put off. It’s almost like you have no more excuses to give it whirl. Come to the write side! You know you want to. We’ll make cookies, if that helps. Alright, I’ll stop harping. Take care and if you want more information on our monthly writing workshop, hit me up! We’re always looking for new blood.
In the meantime, stay frosty, my friends!
-Scotcho
Scott R. Welvaert 
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