External vs Internal Plots

The differences between external and internal plot seem simple enough on the surface, but can trip up many writers. Once you get digging into your project, it’s easy to confuse the two or become uncertain where one begins and the other ends. Hopefully, I’ll be able to clear that up for you by the end of this article.

External Plot

Think of this as the “shell” or “skeleton” of your story. These are the bare-bones events that are either going to run up against what your hero “wants” (conflict) and/or take them where they need to go.

Now this sounds obvious, but bear with me. When plotting your story out, whether you’re following Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey or the 9 step plot dot, or something else entirely, the external plot is what you’re going to be focusing on.

If you’re having difficulty formulating a logline, elevator pitch or a synopsis, you may want to dive into your draft and examine if you have a clear idea of what your external plot points are. Don’t be scared to ask yourself if they’re even in the right place. Perhaps the inciting incident is actually another event that was misplaced in chapter four rather than where it belongs, closer to the beginning (preferably chapter one). All too often, stories are front loaded with lore and backstory and the inciting incident gets buried down the line, or misunderstood for another event entirely.

Here I’m using the inciting incident as a talking point, but this can be true for the other major intersections of plot as well, such as the midpoint or climax. Having a clear idea of where these points land in your novel is going to make not only the writing process that much smoother, but the query process as well once you’re ready. Essentially, the external plot is what publishers (and readers too) are going to be looking at to assess if your story is marketable at face value.

Remember when we mentioned what your character wants a few paragraphs ago? That was for good reason, as that’s the heart beat of your external plot, and perhaps one of the hardest things to pin down.

Ok, but what if you start with a plot and/or concept first, and are trying to come up with a character to fit? Or what if you have it all planned, maybe even written and you still don’t know what your character wants? Well, I’m going to break each of these scenarios down (and if you come up with a scenario I didn’t think of, feel free to let me know)!

Plot/ concept first: You’re going to want to ask yourself some tough questions such as what kind of person would this scenario create? What kind of person comes out of the world or scenario you’ve imagined? Also, what forces would stand against them?

Example: I want to write a story about a portal to another dimension ripping open in the middle of a shopping mall.

In this case, the easiest “want” to give our character is “close the dang portal.” Alright, so how are they going to do that? That’s where the external plot comes in!

Now that we have a “want” and a path forward for our hero, they’re going to need some challenges along the way, and that’s conflict.

For this scenario, let’s say the portal is letting all sorts of devious creatures loose upon the town. That means our hero is going to need to gain some allies, maybe even a mentor, and learn how to fight the creatures, learn what spell to cast to close the portal, learn their mentor was behind ripping it open in the first place, and so on…

You also want to ensure your protagonist is “active” so consider what actions they will and won’t take that propel the plot forward. Giving your character agency is perhaps the second most important thing, right after establishing their want.

Say you start out with an amalgamation of ideas, vague character shapes and distant plot points, but it’s unclear how they fit together. Give yourself a little time and space, and just write it all out in no particular order (don’t fear the word vomit, no one but you will see), then look at your item lists and discern what must remain (what the vision you have for your story absolutely can not live without) and mark them as keepers.

You have your story, but can’t pin down a want for your character: You’ve gotten this story mostly figured out, you have a fleshed out picture in your mind of your character, but still can’t place what it is that they want. In this scenario, one of two things may be happening. Your story is internal plot heavy (driven primarily by the emotions and inner-whims of your character rather than any outside events). This likely means your protagonist is being reactive and dragged along when the plot happens to them (rather than acting on the plot themselves) and/or your want is vague.

If we return to our portal story example, we could have a character that has a vague want to be accepted. That’s a perfectly fine want for a character to have, but it’s an internal want rather than a goal the character is striving for in the outer world. In order to make this work with the external plot, we have to piece this in with how that desire is going to influence the story’s events and challenges. The good news is that internal wants can externalize into physical goals, we just have to follow the thread through. There are character sheets out there that can help.

Perhaps, closing the portal is going to earn them acceptance. How? Well, that’s where the external plot and internal plot collide.

Character first: I’m biased here as this is my favorite way to write, though admittedly, this is perhaps the easiest way to get lost in the sauce and have the story tangled up in the internal plot while the external plot fades into the background. So keep that in mind when taking this approach.

Here we begin with a character profile. We’ll use the portal example (but shh we’re not supposed to know it’s a portal story yet) for the sake of consistency.

Let’s flesh out our character’s want - to be accepted. Ok, cool, we can run with that for now while we flesh out the rest of their profile. Maybe they’re academically inclined, a little bit shy, but they have a dash of an arrogant “I can do it myself attitude.” As much as it’s important to have a want, and some agency, a flaw is perhaps the third most important thing to give your character.

Now we can ask ourselves, how do they intend to gain acceptance? Let’s ask what’s stopping them from getting it in the first place? That’s when we look at their flaw, in this case, but in other examples we could look to an antagonist. Maybe they need to prove to their co-workers at the mall that they’re not aloof, that they can be a team player.

When the portal opens up in the middle of the mall, it’s their time to shine! Let’s then ask, what makes our protagonist the guy for the job? Well, we’ve said they’re academically inclined, so that can certainly help them along the way. Then there’s also the tried and true “chosen one” trope.

Whichever avenue you choose, it’s important your protagonist’s unique personality and skillset meshes well with the plot you have in mind. Don’t forget to challenge their flaws along the way so organic growth can occur.

No matter which scenario, or mix of scenarios you begin with, it’s not going to be a black and white process. The tips and questions from each can be interchangeable and you can go back and forth between them to suit your needs.

To help string this all together, let’s do a quick little outline using our portal story as an example.

Ordinary world: Here’s where we want to discuss what the world looks like for our character prior to the main events of the story. Since we’re talking about external plot here, we’ll ignore the interpersonal dynamic and character arc for now.

The protagonist goes to work at a shoe store in the mall.

Two co-workers mention a birthday party of a third co-worker that the protagonist was not invited to.

The protagonist goes home to an empty apartment and seeks refuge in their favorite research topics.

You may want to establish your Hook in here - What is it that makes your story compelling? What is going to snatch the reader’s attention straight away?

Inciting Incident: This is the event that kick starts the whole story. Ideally, we want to place the inciting incident in the first chapter. You can get away with pushing it a chapter or two, but your protagonist then must be compelling enough to carry the weight of the hook and the conflict to keep readers engaged long enough to get to the inciting incident.

The portal opens up in the middle of the mall food court, spewing out interdimensional creatures.

Refusal of the call: Here’s where your character looks at the opportunity to engage with the opportunity the inciting incident presents and goes “hell no” for whatever reason. It can be due to an internal conflict (here’s where your flaw can come in) or maybe something or someone external stops them, or maybe both.

The protagonist chooses to hide in their apartment until the whole thing blows over.

Meeting with the mentor: This is usually the spot where they meet or engage with someone that has some knowledge on what’s going on, or can at least aid them going into the 2nd act.

A strange man arrives at the apartment, announcing that the protagonist is the only one who can close the portal due to an ancient prophecy.

Crossing the threshold: It might take some convincing, usually from the mentor figure but not always, but the protagonist makes the decision to engage with the inciting incident.

The mentor tells the protagonist if they don’t close the portal, creatures of darkness will devour the town, including that co-worker they have a crush on. The protagonist agrees to help.

Now we’re on our way into the second act where we’ll meet allies, enemies and loads more conflict. Here you’ll want a few big incidents/ turning points to take us into the midpoint (the section of the story where everything flips on its head). Then you’ll want a few more beats to the pit of despair (or belly of the whale) then the climax, then finally, resolution. Here’s a very brief example of what that will look like for our portal story.

Major point of conflict: The protagonist must get a spell book from an antique store half way across town, battling through all the traffic and chaos.

*** Keep in mind that there are smaller scenes between these where the protagonist meets with other potential allies and enemies to help them fail and achieve these tasks.

Major point of conflict: They get to the antique store but the book is written in a dead language. The protagonist must use the knowledge from their studies, as well as reference books to translate.

Midpoint: Here’s where the story flips on its head. The protagonist discovers a big secret, they’re betrayed, their love interest confesses feelings to them ect.

The protagonist discovers their mentor opened the portal in order to instigate the prophecy.

*** There will be one or two other points of major conflict, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll move into the next major shift.

The pit of despair (belly of the whale): All is lost. Your protagonist has lost their way forward somehow. They’ve been defeated and it’s not looking good for them or the gang. Maybe they’ve even lost a buddy or two along the way.

The mall is overrun with the creatures. They’re outnumbered, exhausted and lost.

Rally the troops: Here is where your character (or characters) find a way to regain their confidence, acquire the answer to their problem and/or otherwise find a way out of their mess.

The mentor returns, and is tentatively forgiven in time to aid in the final spell to close the portal.

The Climax: The protagonist and their allies come up against the big bad once and for all.

The gang fights off the creatures while the protagonist reads the final spell to close the portal.

Resolution: This is where any loose threads remaining after the climax get tied up. Whether it’s a happy ending or a sad one, it’s gotta be satisfying.

With the portal closed, the protagonist returns to their ordinary life, but is now more confident and through learning to accept themselves, is now able to not be so reliant on external validation.

Hopefully this section of the article has helped clarify the form and function of the external plot. It basically acts as the scaffolding for your story and gives it a firm spine, so when people ask, “what’s your story about?” you can give them that quick elevator pitch without issue. The better you understand your story, the better your readers and publishers will also.

Internal Plot

If the external plot is the skeleton, the internal plot is the muscle. This is the engine of your story and what makes it move. Where the external plot is what is happening in the story, the internal plot is what is being conveyed.

The internal plot is where you’ll find the majority of the interpersonal conflict of the story. So if you have beats where characters are having confrontations with each other that you feel are necessary to the story, but are more relevant to the protagonist’s development rather than the events, these would be part of your internal plot. The internal plot also deals in themes and relationships as well. However, perhaps the most important by-product of the internal plot is your character’s arc.

Your character’s wants, as well as their flaws are important here too as they’ll drive how they interact not just with achieving their external goal (as seen in the external plot) but even with themselves and each other. This conflict is the engine that crafts the protagonist into the blade that will eventually slay the dragon in your climax when the person the protagonist started as may never have stood a chance.

In addition to wants and flaws, you may also want to examine what your character believes (or the lies they tell themselves) that determine where these wants and flaws come from. It is important to also consider where this lie or belief came from, even if you never reference it directly in the story. Check out John Truby’s “The Anatomy of Story,” and Lisa Cron’s “Story Genius” for more details on this.

If we return to our portal story example, we can frame our protagonist like this:

Want: To be accepted >> close the portal. (note how I returned to that “to be accepted” want. Though we needed to move past it/ externalize it for the sake of external plot, the core essence of wanting acceptance is at the heart of your character’s internal motivation).

Flaw: Arrogance.

Lie/ belief: I must do everything on my own because relying on others only leads to disappointment/ failure

Origin of lie/ belief: Parents were not around often and the protagonist was left to fend for themselves most of the time. They never learned to rely on others in a safe manner.

Here’s where we can dig into the protagonist’s arc and how both the internal and external plot come together to convey this. In the portal story, our hero begins as someone seeking acceptance but unwilling to take the advice, opinions or help from others. They will then end the story as someone who has been humbled by the external events and lessons along the way, and reborn as a person capable of seeing value in the experiences and skills others can bring to the table, and perhaps overcoming their fear of vulnerability and insecurities which will allow them to forge the connections they’ve been desiring.

To see all this in action, let’s return to our portal story’s external plot and plump it up with some internal beats.

Ordinary world: Here’s where we want to discuss what the world looks like for our character prior to the main events of the story. Since we’re talking about external plot here, we’ll ignore the interpersonal dynamic and character arc for now.

The protagonist goes to work at a shoe store in the mall.

Two co-workers mention a birthday party of a third co-worker that the protagonist was not invited to.

The protagonist goes home to an empty apartment and seeks refuge in their favorite research topics.

You may want to establish your Hook in here - What is it that makes your story compelling? What is going to snatch the reader’s attention straight away?

Internal: The protagonist is lonely, and would like to be included in the lives of others. They often feel left out. However, we see through their interactions with their co-workers that they tend to push people away, creating a perpetual cycle of wanting connection, but fear of vulnerability severs it.

Inciting Incident: This is the event that kick starts the whole story. Ideally, we want to place the inciting incident in the first chapter. You can get away with pushing it a chapter or two, but your protagonist then must be compelling enough to carry the weight of the hook and the conflict to keep readers engaged long enough to get to the inciting incident.

The portal opens up in the middle of the mall food court, spewing out interdimensional creatures.

Refusal of the call: Here’s where your character looks at the opportunity to engage with the opportunity the inciting incident presents and goes “hell no” for whatever reason. It can be due to an internal conflict (here’s where your flaw can come in) or maybe something or someone external stops them, or maybe both.

The protagonist chooses to hide in their apartment until the whole thing blows over.

Internal: The situation is terrifying and the protagonist feels well under qualified to deal with it. They are, of course, worried for everyone involved, but don’t see how they could be of help and choose to shelter in place.

Meeting with the mentor: This is usually the spot where they meet or engage with someone that has some knowledge on what’s going on, or can at least aid them going into the 2nd act.

A strange man arrives at the apartment, announcing that the protagonist is the only one who can close the portal due to an ancient prophecy.

Internal: The protagonist is alarmed to learn they are part of some ancient prophecy. Perhaps this revelation reveals something to them about themselves or others. This revelation also serves as an opportunity for world building and exposition. Think “You’re a Wizard, Harry” from “Harry Potter.” or when Buffy discovers that she’s the slayer. We don’t get this specific scene in the show (however Giles fills this role) but it is in the movie.

Crossing the threshold: It might take some convincing, usually from the mentor figure but not always, but the protagonist makes the decision to engage with the inciting incident.

The mentor tells the protagonist if they don’t close the portal, creatures of darkness will devour the town, including that co-worker they have a crush on. The protagonist agrees to help.

Internal: Here’s where we get the stakes. If the protagonist doesn’t do X, then Y and Z are going to happen. Now that our protagonist is aware of their role in the situation, their longing for acceptance as well as their “I can do it myself” attitude with a dash of arrogance propels them forward (Oh, did I mention their flaws can also be helpful too? The same inverse can apply to virtues as well - think of Batman’s refusal to kill which is noble, but arguably allows the Joker to continuously escape Arkham. Here’s where some juicy moral debates and ethical dilemmas thrive. Don’t be scared of the grey, not everything has to be black and white).

Now we’re on our way into the second act where we’ll meet allies, enemies and loads more conflict. Here you’ll want a few big incidents/ turning points to take us into the midpoint (the section of the story where everything flips on its head). Then you’ll want a few more beats to the pit of despair (or belly of the whale) then the climax, then finally, resolution. Here’s a very brief example of what that will look like for our portal story.

Major point of conflict: The protagonist must get a spell book from an antique store half way across town, battling through all the traffic and chaos.

*** Keep in mind that there are smaller scenes between these where the protagonist meets with other potential allies and enemies to help them achieve these tasks.

Major point of conflict: They get to the antique store but the book is written in a dead language. The protagonist must use the knowledge from their studies, as well as reference books to translate.

Midpoint: Here’s where the story flips on its head. The protagonist discovers a big secret, they’re betrayed, their love interest confesses feelings to them ect.

The protagonist discovers their mentor opened the portal in order to instigate the prophecy.

Internal: This section should shake up your characters internal world as well. Perhaps here is where they get their belief/ lie reinforced or challenged in a major way. For our example here, this revelation may make our protagonist double down on their belief that people will disappoint them and that they can only rely on themselves. Then this can go on to be challenged by the other characters and events of the story.

*** There will be one or two other points of major conflict, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll move into the next major shift.

Internal: In these smaller beats as the protagonist is learning, making friends, and earning enemies, think about how their wants, flaws and personal beliefs are fueled or failed by these interactions. For example, here’s where our character’s arrogance can land them in trouble. Perhaps they don’t take someone’s advice when they really should have, which leads them to a) have conflict with that character and/or b) fail to achieve a goal. Also, provide them the opportunity to grow from these failures and give them moments of success (both in terms of their external goals, but in their relationships with themselves and others). Agency is also something to keep top of mind. Always consider how your character’s decisions to act (or not) influence the outcome of the story.

The pit of despair (belly of the whale): All is lost. Your protagonist has lost their way forward somehow. They’ve been defeated and it’s not looking good for them or the gang. Maybe they’ve even lost a buddy or two along the way.

The mall is overrun with the creatures. They’re outnumbered, exhausted and lost.

Internal: Similar to the midpoint, this should also kick your character in the teeth and challenge their core beliefs. Perhaps, because our protagonist has been so stubborn and refusing help where they need it, they’ve become isolated, but now have to realize that they can’t take on this many creatures alone.

Rally the troops: Here is where your character (or characters) find a way to regain their confidence, acquire the answer to their problem and/or otherwise find a way out of their mess.

The mentor returns, and is tentatively forgiven in time to aid in the final spell to close the portal.

Internal: Here is where the apologies can be made, the McGuffin is acquired/ comes into play and spirits are restored. Again, don’t be afraid to sit in the grey. The protagonist here doesn’t have to 100% forgive the mentor, but pragmatism might win out and they set aside the conflict enough to get the job done. This could serve double duty, where before the protagonist’s arrogance may not have allowed them to even do this much, so it can show how far the protagonist has come from the isolated guy we met at the start.

The Climax: The protagonist and their allies come up against the big bad once and for all.

The gang fights off the creatures while the protagonist reads the final spell to close the portal.

Internal: Here is where we see the fruit of the character’s labour. All that growing and learning begins to pay off. See how in our external beat the protagonist relies on their allies to take out the creatures while they close the portal. This shows that they have learned to accept help and respect the skills of others. If they hadn’t begun to overcome their arrogance, they would not be able to succeed here. It’s a good idea to allow your external and internal plot to come together in this way to really maximize reader satisfaction and make it so that the internal plot matters in the first place, and doesn’t feel like filler.

Resolution: This is where any loose threads remaining after the climax get tied up. Whether it’s a happy ending or a sad one, it’s gotta be satisfying.

With the portal closed, the protagonist returns to their ordinary life, but is now more confident and through learning to accept themselves, is now able to not be so reliant on external validation.

Internal: Here is where we see what our characters walk away with both in the literal sense (the portal is closed, the creatures are dead/ gone, the town is destroyed but will recover ect.), but also in the internal sense. Show us how the protagonist is not the same guy we met at the start and show us how they’ve improved (or horribly crashed and burned). For the sake of our portal story, we might fast forward a bit to when everything is more stable externally, and show our protagonist getting invited out with some friends. This would mirror the events of the beginning, but show how the events of the story have made them a different person now. Instead of getting left out, they’ve been included.

I hope this has clarified the differences between external and internal plot, and how the two can come together to make a cohesive story with substance. You don’t need to follow my directions to the letter, but rather see them as a template for how you may want to shape your own story. I encourage you to look into different ways to structure stories and get a feel for what best suits your needs. The better you know your characters and your overall vision and world, it will help you through this process immensely.

Also, if you do outline, don’t take it as gospel. This way you’ll avoid the pitfall of making your characters do things for the dreaded “plot reasons.” As you get writing, you may find the direction you go in with your internal plot (i.e a decision your character makes that’s not necessarily beneficial to how you want the external events to go, but is something they would legitimately choose to do under the circumstances and who they are in that moment) can impact the external plot of the story quite heavily. Don’t fear leaning into this! It’s amazing to see where your story can go if you let the characters have a little more leash.

I hope this has been an enjoyable read and may have clarified some common sticking points. Happy writing!