For commercial fiction plotters
24- and 27-Chapter Novel Outline Templates
Derek Murphy's 24-chapter structure and Kat O'Keeffe's 27-chapter method as editable outlines, each with the turns marked and a plain job per chapter.
- Ch 1Rosa botches the lamp; her cousin gets the post.
- Ch 3 · turnThe ghost ship fires a flare.
- Ch 6 · 25%The keeper falls ill. The light is hers alone.
- Ch 9 · turnShe guides a trawler home through the fleet.
- Ch 12 · 50%The radio operator hears the dead crews. Stay or go?
- Ch 15 · turnThe keeper hands her the master key.
- Ch 18 · 75%The salvager has been luring wrecks, like his father.
- Ch 21 · turnShe climbs the tower in the storm anyway.
- Ch 24 · endAt dawn the fleet is gone. She's the keeper now.
What you'll get
24- and 27-chapter outlines with a job for every chapter
- 24 chapters in four blocks, eight turns marked
- A 27-chapter version in three acts of nine
- A plain job per chapter, plus a genre table
Before and after
Your idea in. Twenty-four chapters that each do their job.
A lighthouse apprentice sees ships that sank fifty years ago sailing past her light.
Block 1: the old life cracks 1. A bad day that shows what's missing. Rosa botches the lamp cleaning before the inspector's visit, and the keeper's post goes to her cousin. 2. Something strange, explained away. At midnight a three-masted ship with no lights slides past the rocks. Fog, she decides. 3. Setbacks pile up. The inspector finds the logbook entry she faked. Turn: inciting incident. The ship passes again and fires a flare. 4. A disruption she can't ignore. A drowned sailor's coat washes up on the landing, bone dry. 6. The safety net goes. The keeper falls ill. The light is hers alone.
Each chapter's event does that chapter's job, so the structure holds all the way through.
Why it works
What is the 24-chapter novel outline?
The 24-chapter novel outline, created by author Derek Murphy of Creativindie, plans a novel as 24 chapters in three acts, with a turning point after every third chapter. He built it by expanding his eight-point Plot Dot, and his free original, with his own notes, lives on his 24-chapter plot outline page. This template follows his structure and credits him, while every chapter job is written in River's own plain words.
Murphy's acts run six, twelve and six chapters. This template splits his long middle act at the midpoint, so you get four blocks of six, each with its own job, and the same eight turns. We added an optional chapter 25 for series writers. Where his notes lean on adventure words like "battle," the jobs here use neutral terms, and a table translates each turn for romance, mystery and literary fiction.
On his outline page, Murphy notes the sections are story sections, not fixed chapters, so treat the 24 as a guide rather than a quota. Prefer 27? A second outline follows Kat O'Keeffe's method: three acts, each made of three blocks of three chapters. Get both as Word files, or open them in River and share a premise or rough notes for a first pass. For a lighter plan, the novel outline template uses 20 chapters; for beats placed by percentage, see the Save the Cat beat sheet.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the 24-chapter outline
- Four blocks of six
Chapters grouped by what each block does, from the old life cracking to winning differently. - Eight turns marked
A turn after every third chapter, from the inciting incident to the new normal. - A plain job per chapter
One line in neutral words, written by River, so the outline fits any genre. - Genre translation table
Each of the eight turns phrased for romance, mystery and literary fiction. - Length guide
Murphy's own numbers for scenes and chapter length, quoted with credit. - Optional chapter 25
A closing chapter for series writers: the new normal, with a hint of what's next. - A 27-chapter version
Kat O'Keeffe's three acts of nine chapters, credited, as a second outline in the same download.
How it works
From one idea to 24 chapters
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The 24 chapters open in River with the credit box at the top.
Share your idea
Optional. Give River your premise or paste your plot notes, and it phrases each turn for your genre.
Get a first pass
River writes what happens in each chapter, so every event does that chapter's job.
Make it yours
Merge, split or move chapters, break each one into scene cards, and name them with the chapter title generator.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is the 24-chapter novel outline?
It's a novel structure created by author Derek Murphy of Creativindie, built by expanding his eight-point Plot Dot. It plans a book as 24 chapters in three acts and places a turning point after every third chapter. His free original, with his notes, is on his Creativindie outline page. This template splits the long middle act in two.
Is this Derek Murphy's official template?
No. It follows his structure and credits him, but the chapter jobs are River's own words, written to suit any genre, and River isn't affiliated with him or Creativindie. His free versions come as Word, PDF, Google Docs, Scrivener and Plottr files, with his notes. Use whichever helps you more.
What makes a good chapter outline for a novel?
One where every chapter has a job and changes something, and the big turns land near a quarter, half and three quarters of the way through, as K.M. Weiland's structure guide places them. In a 24-chapter book, those marks fall after chapters 6, 12 and 18.
How does the 27-chapter method work?
A structure from writer and YouTuber Kat O'Keeffe: three acts, each split into three blocks of three chapters, laid out in her video on the 27-chapter outline. Each block works like a small story of its own. This template includes it as a second outline, with chapter jobs in River's own words.
Is 20 chapters enough for a novel?
There's no required number. Murphy treats his sections as story sections rather than fixed chapters, and he suggests splitting chapters in two for a fast thriller. To use this outline with 20 chapters, merge a few inside each block and keep the turns in roughly the same places.
How long should each chapter be?
Murphy's own numbers: he drafts about two 1,000-word scenes per chapter, for a first draft of nearly 50,000 words that grows to around 75,000 after editing. For an 80,000-word novel he estimates about 3,300 words per chapter. Your genre and pacing matter more than an exact count.
Does it work for romance or literary fiction?
Yes. The original uses adventure words like "battle." This template phrases each job in neutral terms and adds a table that translates the eight turns for romance, mystery and literary fiction. If you want beats built around a love story, the romance beat sheet goes further.
Your next step
More for your book
Twenty-four chapters, each with a purpose
Open the outline in a doc you keep, or hand River your premise and notes for a first pass, then keep going chapter by chapter.