I used the Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure illustrated on the One Stop for Writers website, to create my Memoir Outline. They also call this a story map, and that’s a good description because it provides the anchor points that will keep your story going in the right direction.

Their online Story Map tool walks you through the six different stages of your story and the 5 different turning points. These almost sync to the KM Weiland story structure, except she refers to the 5 Turning Points as Plot Points (of which there’s 3) and Pinch Points (of which there’s 2).

Even thought the KM Weiland story structure and naming makes sense, I’m actually leaning towards using Michael Hauge’s story structure, because I like how the stages and turning points are named, and the associated descriptions and content seem to work best with a positive change character arc.

My Outline / Story Map

I entered my outline into the One Stop for Writers story map template to create a first draft of my memoir’s outline:

Here’s a quick summary of of the above structure:

• 6 part memoir outline in 3 acts
• Based on Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure
• Using a Positive Change story arc

Next Steps:

I’m going to use this first draft of my Story Map and flesh it out with more detail and clarity. Then use that to write the first draft of my in-depth outline.

What I’m Reading

Theme	Characters	Plot