For fantasy and romantasy writers
Fantasy Novel Outline Template: Magic System
Start with the one rule your magic never breaks and what it costs, then map three acts that keep it. No encyclopedia required.
- RuleThe ruleAnyone with the gift can mend a broken thing by touch. The break moves into the mender.
- CostThe costEvery mend leaves the same crack in you. Menders go grey by thirty.
- NeverWhat it can never doMend what was never whole. Bring back the dead.
- Act 1OpeningWren mends a child's arm in an alley and hides the new hairline crack in her wrist.
- Act 1Inciting incidentThe sea dam above Saltmarch cracks. Soldiers start hunting unlicensed menders.
- Act 1The rule on the pageShe mends a soldier's sword to escape. Her forearm fractures.
What you'll get
Your magic's rule and cost first, then three acts
- Your magic's rule, its cost and its limits
- A three-act map that pays the cost in every act
- A rule check for a climax that plays fair
Before and after
Your idea in. A rule-true outline out.
A bonesetter's apprentice can mend anything by touch, but the break moves into her own body.
The rule: Anyone with the gift can mend a broken thing by touch, and the break moves into the mender. What it can never do: mend what was never whole, or bring back the dead. The cost: every mend leaves the same crack in the mender. A cracked cup is a cracked fingernail. A broken bridge is a broken bone. The rule on the page: Wren mends a soldier's sword to escape and feels her own forearm fracture. Open questions: Can a break be passed on to someone else? (Assumed yes, revealed at the midpoint.)
Your rule stays yours. River proposes one only when you leave it out, and flags it under Open questions.
Why it works
What is a fantasy novel outline template?
A fantasy novel outline template is a plan for your book that starts with how your world works: the one rule your magic obeys and what using it costs. Then it maps the plot in three acts, so magic only solves problems readers already understand. The reasoning comes from Sanderson's First Law: your ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands it. This template puts the rule, the cost and the limits on page one.
Many fantasy templates hand you a worldbuilding checklist of religions, currencies, languages and maps, which can swallow a year before chapter one. This one caps the world at what your plot touches: up to three places and one way the rule changes everyday life. Every act carries a rule beat, so the rule is shown, tested, paid for, and finally used in a climax with no new powers. Want the deeper setting questions too? Use the worldbuilding template.
Click Edit with AI and the outline opens empty. Share your premise and the rule, or paste the notes you've built up, and River drafts every section in your story's terms. Its guesses go under Open questions so you can overrule them, and the story bible template keeps names and places straight as you write. When you're ready to draft, the AI novel writer writes chapter one from your outline; the fantasy story generator tests a rule in a short story.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the outline
- The rule, first
One sentence a reader could repeat, plus what the magic can and can never do. - The cost
What every use takes, whether that's body, memory, years, money or people. - Who controls it
Who has the power, who wants it, and who pays for it. - Protagonist and opposition
Your hero's place under the rule, what it will cost them, and who stands in the way. - A world capped at three places
Only what the plot touches, plus one way the rule shapes daily life. - Three acts with rule beats
Thirteen beats across Act One, both halves of Act Two, and Act Three. - A four-point rule check
Catches magic that solves an unseen problem, a cost never paid, or a new power at the climax.
How it works
From one rule to a full map
Open the outline
Click Edit with AI. Your fantasy outline opens in River with every section in place.
Add your rule
Optional. Describe your premise and the rule your magic obeys, or paste the world notes you have.
Get a first pass
River states the rule, names the cost, fills the acts and notes how the plan passes the rule check.
Plan beyond book one
Change any beat. If this is the first of several, note what it sets up in the series bible template.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a fantasy novel outline template?
It's a plan for a fantasy book that settles how the world works before the plot: the rule your magic obeys, what it costs and who controls it. Then it maps three acts around that rule. Sanderson's Second Law explains why the limits come first: they matter more than the powers.
How do I outline a fantasy novel?
Start with the one rule your magic or world never breaks and what using it costs. Next, decide where your protagonist stands under that rule and who opposes them. Then map three acts: show the rule early, test it in the middle, make someone pay, and end on a climax that uses only what readers already know.
How is a fantasy novel usually structured?
There is no single required one. Many fantasy novels run in three acts, and planning tools offer others: Plottr's fantasy templates include Derek Murphy's 24-chapter outline, Gail Carriger's Heroine's Journey, the Hero's Journey and Dan Harmon's Story Circle. This template uses three acts because most of those fit inside them. Prefer chapters? Try the 24-chapter novel outline.
How much worldbuilding should I do before I start writing?
Enough for the scenes you are about to write. This template asks for up to three places and one way the rule changes daily life, because detail that never reaches the page can stall a draft for months. Keep a story bible as you go, and add the rest when a scene needs it.
Does this work for soft magic?
Yes. In his First Law essay, Sanderson notes that writers of soft, unexplained magic rarely use it to solve problems; the magic creates problems, and people solve them. Use the rule section for what the magic will never do for your hero, and the cost for what it takes from anyone who touches it.
Can I use it for romantasy?
Yes. Mention the love story when you tell River about your book. The first pass weaves the relationship into the act map, so the romance and the magic put pressure on each other. For the love story itself, pair this outline with the romance beat sheet, which tracks both leads' wounds and three near-misses from meet-cute to happily ever after.
How do I use this fantasy novel outline template?
Download the Word file, or click Edit with AI to open it as an empty doc in River. Tell River about your story, ideally with the rule your magic obeys, and it writes a first pass of every section, keeping every place and power you named. Anything it had to assume goes under Open questions for you to settle.
Your next step
More for your book
Build the plot around the rule
Your rule, its cost and three acts in one doc. Write it yourself, or tell River your story and its magic.