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Plan Your Novel with Index Cards!

Plan Your Novel with Index Cards!

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 PLAN YOUR NOVEL WITH INDEX CARDS!borrowing a Screenwriter’s Tool — a podcast episode — How can I use index cards to plot a novel?The index card method helps novelists visualize and organize their story by dividing it into key turning points across a four-row layout, one row per story act. Each card represents a single scene, allowing writers to pace their novel, identify structural weaknesses, and rearrange plot points easily before drafting. Helping writers craft authentic, immersive stories.Find out more about us here. Inside Creative Writing Email this Page Share on Bluesky Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Threads Share on Facebook Table Of Contents Formatted and Edited Transcript Why the Index Card Method Works Structure as Creative Freedom Podcast Episodes on Story Structure What Is the Index Card Method? Act One: Setup and First Turning Point Act Two: The Midpoint Shift End of Act Two: The All Is Lost Moment Act Three: The Resolution Building Out the Full Card Layout Structure Inspires Creativity Adapting the Index Card Method for Novelists Setting Up the Card System Optional: Color Coding Laying Out the Cards and Playing with Story When Structure Sparks New Creativity Using the Index Card Method During Drafting Wise Words About Structure Weekly Challenge: Reverse Engineering with Index Cards Final Thoughts and Resources Talk to Us! Share This Resource When writing a novel, it’s easy to get lost in the fog of ideas and endless possibilities. That’s where index card plotting comes in. In this episode, we explore a screenwriting method that translates perfectly to fiction: using index cards to build out your novel’s structure. This hands-on, visual approach helps writers of all styles, plotters and pantsers alike, get a clear view of their story’s pacing, major turning points, and emotional beats. Whether you’re stuck in the messy middle or just getting started, index card plotting offers clarity and momentum. Key takeaways include: How the classic 40-card layout is used by screenwriters, and how novelists can adapt itThe four key turning points every story needs: inciting incident, midpoint, all-is-lost moment, and resolutionHow to physically map out your novel for better pacing and structureTips for customizing the system to suit your writing styleHow the index card method reduces overwhelm and unlocks creativity If you’ve ever felt stuck or unsure of your novel’s trajectory, this is a powerful method to get you moving. For deeper story guidance, check out our full How to Write a Novel guide and listen to How to Plot a Book and Claymation and Story Structure. Formatted and Edited Transcript Today, we’re going to steal from the screenwriting world to hack our story plotting. We’re going to explore a card game of sorts and figure out your story. Welcome back to Inside Creative Writing, where we help you craft authentic immersive stories one technique at a time. I’m your host, Brad Reed, and today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite tools, borrowed, or maybe stolen, from screenwriting: the index card method. Why the Index Card Method Works Now, if you’ve studied screenwriting at all, you’ll probably be familiar with this tried and true method of plotting and pacing a film. But if you haven’t, this could revolutionize the way that you plan and plot your story. So, with a little tweaking, we can take it from the screenwriting world and make it work for novels and even short stories as well. This is one of those techniques that feels weirdly old school, which I kind of love. But trust me, it works. It’s flexible, it’s tactile, and it helps you see your story in a different way. And the best part? You don’t have to be a plotter to use it. Even if you’re more of a discovery writer, index cards can bring just enough structure to keep your novel from wandering off into the… Structure as Creative Freedom Before we dive in though, I want to pause for a second. Because if you’re not yet sold on the idea that structure matters, you’re not alone. A lot of writers resist it. I used to resist structure, too. I thought structure would cage my creativity. What I’ve learned is that structure actually frees it. I’ve seen this play out in my creative writing classes over and over again. If I tell the students to write a story about anything they want, I get nothing but blank stares. They don’t know where to start. There are just too many possibilities. But if I give them limitations, they leap into storytelling. So something like: write a scene where a character must leave a voicemail for someone they haven’t spoken to in over a decade. They only have 60 seconds before the recording cuts off. They can’t say why they’re calling until the final sentence. Now notice how many rules there are to that, or how much structure there is to that prompt, but what it does is it focuses the ...

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