How to Write a Story Using A Witch's Plot Diagram

Last Updated: December 30, 2021

Have you ever wanted to write a story, but can't get an effective outline? This strategy is a good way to get a basic outline from the beginning to end of your story.

Steps

1
Know the 5 parts of the witch's hat diagram. There are Five Parts to the witch's hat diagram: The exposition, the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
2
First, you must have an idea in your head. Thinking of the plot as you go along is perfectly fine, but you *will* have to do some editing later on.
3
Draw the beginnings of the hat. This diagram gives you a visual aid to the basic outline of your story. First, you will need to draw an up-side-down "v" shape on a piece of paper. Hold the paper sideways, so that it is in "landscape" form.
4
Then draw two horizontal lines that connect to the edges of the "v" shape that reach across the paper. They both should be about 3 or so inches long.
5
On the first line, on the far left, label it Exposition. Underneath it, write out the name of your protagonist, and a trait that makes them distinctive. Do the same for the antagonist. Then list the other important characters and their interaction with the protagonist or antagonist.
6
On the slope on the left of the up-side-down "v", label it "rising action" and write all the events the character faces, leading up to the climax.
7
At the climax, label the moment of biggest suspense, when the protagonist achieves his goal, or achieves something very important. Remember, this is the biggest event in your story.
8
Lay down the falling action. Then comes the falling action. This is usually the last conflict that the protagonist encounters, and towards the end of the story, where he defeats the antagonist. This will be on the right side of the "v" on the witch's hat.
9
Decide on the resolution. Finally, there is the resolution. This is the ending of the story, where all the conflicts are resolved. This is on the right horizontal line of the diagram.
- This is what the final product should look like. The witch's hat diagram is good for novels+ and short stories. NOT for books that are in or part of a series.

Community Q&A

Question

What is the exposition regarding to plot?

Community Answer

The exposition of a story is background information and important parts of the story such as characters, setting, and events.
Question

Do I need to use the witch's hat diagram if my book is based on a biography? If not, then how do I do the plot?

Kasey Smith

Community Answer

If you are basing it off a biography, a plot diagram can be very helpful, you should try setting up the diagram first and seeing if it's for you. Some people just piece it together without one, you can really do it any of the two ways.

Warnings

Do not write anything that is derogatory to any group of people, or ideas. Even though you may want to, and hundreds of people may agree with you, There are also hundreds who disagree, and if you spite them, you lose half your audience. If you want to express an opinion, do it in a civilized manner.

Thanks!
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 3

Things You'll Need

If you are typing...
- A computer, and Microsoft word.
- If you have a mac, use word∙mac or Appleworks.
If you prefer not to type it up...
- a pen/pencil
- Paper