How to outline the 5 major plot points of your romance story?

Do you find the process of planning a whole novel overwhelming? Do you find it difficult to establish an outlining routine, or are you not sure how to outline the structure of your romance manuscript? 

Instead of outlining all the plot points of your romance story at once, which can be tiring and overwhelming, I recommend outlining first the 5 major plot points of a romance manuscript’s structure: the Catalyst, Break Into 2, Midpoint, All is Lost and Break Into 3.

Catalyst
Break Into 2
Midpoint
All is Lost
Break Into 3
How should I outline my romance story if I have multiple main characters?

Catalyst (10%)
The first major plot point of a romance story is the inciting incident that happens to the main character and introduces them to a new world. In romance stories, it is often called the “meet cute” because the main characters meet for the first time, or they appear on the page for the first time together.

The pov character is physically attracted to the other person and vividly describes their physical appearance. The pov character internally thinks the reasons (internal conflict) they cannot fall in love, and they emotionally reject them.

Break Into 2 (20%)
The second major plot point occurs at the beginning of Act 2, when the main character decides to leave the status quo and enter into a new world. The main character leaves their comfort zone and enters an unknown world or a new way of thinking.

At the beginning of Act 2, the main characters are reluctant to spend time together and to fall in love because of their internal conflict, but they are thrown into situations where they are stuck together, and they come emotionally and physically closer.

Midpoint (50%)
The third major plot point takes place in the middle of the story, and it is the plot point where the main character realises their romantic feelings. The main character is willing to change and falsely believes they will be able to overcome the internal conflict that is keeping them back from emotionally opening themselves and having their happily ever after.

This is the plot point where you raise the stakes and put more obstacles and challenges to the main character to emotionally change.

All is Lost (75%)
The fourth major plot is the lowest point of the romance story. It is the scene where the main character chooses fear instead of love, and they break up because they believe they will emotionally hurt each other because of their internal conflict.

*There are many romance novels that don’t include an actual breakup scene since some romance readers don’t like it. It’s up to you whether you want to include one in your story. You can choose instead to temporarily separate the main characters so that they can see how miserable their life is without each other.     

Break Into 3 (80%)
The fifth major plot point occurs at the beginning of Act 3, where the main character chooses love this time and wants to be happy.

They come up with a plan on the steps they need to take (with the help of family and friends) to reconcile with the other character and to fix the problems they have created the right way. 

How should I outline my romance story if I have multiple main characters?
The first step to outlining your romance story is to decide the number of main characters. In romance novels, the main characters (the main couple) are the pov characters of the story.

Some romance writers choose to have only one main character, while others choose to have two main characters. If the second character has equal page time and character development with the main character, then you probably have two main characters in your story.

If your romance story has one main character, you need to create one outline sheet, starting by writing down the five major plot points of your story.

If your romance story has 2 main characters that experience the majority of the story together, then create one outline sheet for both of them.

If your romance story has 2 main characters that don’t experience the majority of the story together, but still have some shared chapters, create a separate outline sheet for each main character.

Conclusion
The five major plot points will help you outline the basic structure of your romance manuscript in an easy and simple way. Brainstorm and write down the five major plot points first before outlining the rest of them in your outline sheet.

​Take as much time as you need to plan your romance story and write down as many details as you want. Your outline sheet can include brief bullet points or long paragraphs. Have fun and enjoy writing!

Additional resources
How to write a novel using the 3-act structure
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat
What is a romance story and how to write one
How to write a romance novel in 5 steps

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About the author

​​​Maria Georgiou is a reliable and supportive developmental editor and beta reader for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, fantasy romance and romantasy stories. She is a member of the EFA, ClubEdFreelancers and ALLi.
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