The 27 Chapter Method, also known as the 3 Act 9 Block 27 Chapter Method, was made popular by Kat O’Keefe, as a way to help guide writers on their story structure. Despite the technique generally known as the 27 Chapter Method, your novel can actually end up not having 27 chapters at all.
The idea of the 27 Chapter Method is to be able to identify important and specific plot points in your story, often as a broad starting point in the outlining phase.
The concept is to divide your story into 3 main acts: the start, middle, and end. Then, each of those acts are further divided into 9 blocks or chapters, hence the titular 27 chapters. However, we believe that it is more important for you to learn what each block should have and not restrict yourself into the actual 27 chapters.
The overview for all of the blocks for each act can be seen below.
Having the outline might be less helpful than intended, so we’ll also include short descriptions of each block to guide you as you write your rough outline.
To further explain what each chapter is supposed to achieve, let’s try to follow the sample story of Sarah and Jane as they work together, Sarah as a new hire in the lab and Jane as a ghost after dying without ever reconciling with Sarah, and seek to avenge Jane’s death.
ACT I
Intro: Introduce Hero and the ordinary world.
We meet Jane and Sarah, two sisters that hate each other. Jane is an overachiever and Sarah is a slacker.
Inciting Incident: A problem disrupts the Hero’s life that will kick off the rest of the story.
Jane abruptly dies and her death was assumed to be a suicide.
Immediate Reaction: The Hero deals with the inciting incident and/or the changes that result from the inciting incident.
After Jane dies, Sarah’s tattoo starts hurting and she sees visions of Jane, telling Sarah that Jane was murdered. It seems Jane’s ghost is bound to Sarah’s tattoo.
Reaction: Long-term reaction. The reader begins to understand just how the inciting incident will affect the Hero’s life.
Sarah freaks out. She doesn’t want to be haunted by Jane. She tries to find ways to exorcise her sister, but nothing works (refusal to the call to action). The sisters determine that Sarah needs to help Jane pass on by dealing with her unfinished business.
Action: The Hero decides to act and makes a decision that will impact the rest of the story.
Sarah decides she must get herself into the elite program her sister was involved in.
Consequence: The result of the decision made (see Action).
Because of her decision. Sarah now has to study and prepare for the tests.
Pressure: The Hero begins to feel the pressure of the task before them and is stressed.
Sarah is taking the test and doing the interview, a pressured and stressful situation she did not expect to have.
Pinch: Things get a little more complicated and the Hero wonders if the right decision was made. (see Action) A plot twist happens.
It turns out that the test isn’t just a written test. There’s a hands-on portion that Sarah didn’t account for. Jane, the ghost sister, helps out at the last minute.
Push: The Hero is pushed in a new direction.
Sarah gets a tour of the lab. She meets new people that work there. She’s pushed into a new world.
ACT II
New World: The Hero experiences a new world or situation.
Sarah’s first days in the lab went pretty well, learning new things, spending time with new people, etc.
Fun & Games: The Hero explores and interacts in the new world. This is a good place to build relationships, romantic or otherwise, and develop your character more.
Sarah starts off a possible romance with someone in the lab who Jane, the ghost sister, hates.
Old Contrast: The Hero compares the new world to the old, and is reminded of how much has changed.
Sarah and Jane are fighting. Jane wants Sarah to focus on the work and not the guy she’s just met.
Build Up: This is where you prepare for the major turning point in your story. There is some form of struggle, internal or external, that will motivate your Hero to take matters into their own hands.
Sarah and Jane’s fighting gets to a boiling point, until Sarah claims that Jane decided to commit suicide to gain attention even after death. Jane gets hurt, decides to leave and not talk to her.
Midpoint: The Hero encounters something that complicates their plans and motivates them to change the course of events.
Sarah starts to find out new things on her own and then finally considers that Jane might have been murdered.
Reversal: Everything changes.
The sisters make amends and discuss the possibilities of who could have killed her.
Consequence: The Hero reflects upon what has happened.
Sarah decides to go to the police and try to report the murder. They don’t buy it, as they need proof and evidence.
Trials: The Hero takes matters into their own hands and solves or works around the roadblocks that occurred. (See Reversal)
Sarah is now wary of everyone in the lab. She starts to investigate everyone in the lab. She might be nervous that she’s the next target.
Dedication: The Hero is now determined to overcome the overall issue.
Sarah still finds no hard evidence but she’s dedicated to figuring it out.
Calm Before The Storm: The Hero finds a solution, but now must overcome doubt, or some other complication.
Sarah builds on her romance with the love interest.
Pinch: Plot Twist! Everything is worse than it was.
Sarah finds out that the love interest is the murderer.
Darkest Point: Everything seems lost.
Sarah is betrayed. She starts to contemplate on who she should choose.
Power Within: The Hero finds the courage and the strength to carry on.
Sarah chooses her sister and musters up the courage to continue investigating.
Action: The Hero takes action, and overcomes the plot twist, before taking on the overall issue again.
Sarah starts to act coy around the murderer to lower his guard and find more evidence.
Converge: Everything comes together: the main plot, the subplot(s), the conflict, etc. The big event is imminent.
The sisters have fully fixed their relationship and are working together flawlessly.
Battle: The Hero fights the villain and/or tackles the overall issue, full force.
Sarah and Jane fight the nemesis with all they’ve got.
Climax: The Hero either triumphs or succumbs to a fatal flaw.
Sarah gets the proof she needs and the love interest is arrested.
Resolution: Tie up all loose ends. Make sure the Hero has changed in some way.
Jane finally rests in peace, and Sarah continues her career in the lab.
How To Use The 27 Chapter Method Template on LivingWriter
Now that you know how to use the 27 Chapter Method, you might be itching to put your new knowledge to the test. Luckily, LivingWriter, the best writing companion for authors and novelists, saw this very possibility ahead and has a neat template for those dedicated to using this method to structure their stories.
We’ll show you how you can get started on LivingWriter and the 27 Chapter Method:
1. When you open up LivingWriter, select 27 Chapter Method from the row of templates at the top of the page.
2. Once you’re inside, you’ll see three distinct sections: the outline section on the left, the main section on the middle, and the sidebar on the right. You’ll find the outline section pre-filled with the 3 acts and 27 chapters we just discussed above. Clicking through each chapter, you’ll also see the sidebar also pre-filled with basic information about each chapter.
3. To work on the overall outline first, you can click on the Board button and then Outlines and Chapters. This will show you the three acts in blocks, designed similar to index cards pinned to a corkboard. You can fill these blocks with the general flow of your story, or a quick summary of each act.
4. To work on the detailed outline, you can click on the upper right corner of each block to expand each act into its chapters. You can fill these blocks with the plot points for your story. These plot points will also appear in the sidebar when you go back to the main screen to write the story.
We also have a feature in the Outline and Chapters called Status, which allows you to keep track of the current status of each chapter. This is especially helpful as you can now easily go through your outline in LivingWriter and know which parts will need to be fixed, submitted, or edited.
Reading this is sure to get your creative juices flowing! If you find Kat O’Keefe’s structure a bit too specific, you can check out other plotting methods like Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, and Dan Well’s Seven Point Story Structure.
The idea of the 27 Chapter Method is to be able to identify important and specific plot points in your story, often as a broad starting point in the outlining phase. The concept is to divide your story into 3 main acts: the start, middle, and end.
So if we're writing a 100,000-word novel, we'll have about 50 scene/chapters in our novel. From our earlier beginning, middle and end discussion, we know that 15 of those 50 scenes are already spoken for.
What is a beat sheet? A beat sheet is a simple document that outlines your entire story from the first act to the final image. By listing out the key plot points and important frames, it'll make your writing process way easier. Just ask Hollywood's finest screenwriters.
Most nonfiction books have between 5 and 20 chapters. Any less than 5 and your chapters may be running long or may contain too many ideas. That said, there are plenty of books with 30 or 40 chapters. And some books, usually with very short chapters, can have 50+.
Two hours a week of studying for two months is a good general goal if you are closer to the test date. If you have four or more months before the test, you could try just an hour a week.
There are no rules when it comes to chapter length. The important thing is to concentrate on making your chapters fit your story, not on making your story fit your chapters. Many novelists these days prefer chapters that are between 1,500 words—or six book pages— and 8,000 words, or 32 book pages.
Here's how long it takes to write a book based on our daily writing guidelines: 50,000-word book — 5-8 months. 75,000-word book — 8-12 months. 100,000-word book — 1-1.5 years.
On average, chapters tend to range from 1,000-5,000 words, with most falling in the 2,000-4,000 range. But chapters can be much longer or much shorter. There are plenty of bestselling books where some chapters are only a page and some where they don't even use chapters in the traditional sense.
Break Into Three (Choosing Act Three) (85) – Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or last-minute Thematic advice from the B Story (usually the love interest), the main character chooses to try again. The New Information presents the final goal the main character will have to achieve to complete the journey.
What Makes a Good Short Story? The four elements necessary for your story structure are character, plot, setting, and tension. Balancing these elements is the first step to making your creative writing amazing.
You can use endlessly different story structures and styles, but each story or novel is going to boil down to three fundamental elements: character, setting, and plot.
As stated, there are two parts within any short story structure. The first is the plot which is 'what happens' or the chain of events that occur in your short story. ... There are five main structural features of a short story:
The plot used in fictions can be differentiated into four types: linear, episodic, parallel, and flashback. The most common plot employed in short stories is the linear plot.
A story's message, or theme, is what the author wants to teach you through his or her writing. Some stories have a specific kind of message called a moral, or a life lesson. You can find the message of a story by looking at the characters' actions and focusing on what is repeated throughout the story.
As a general rule, novels between 70,000 and 90,000 words will probably have anywhere between 15 and 25 chapters. But in the end, the number of chapters in your book should be secondary to your story.
Some students appear to be "quick studies." They read, understand, and remember instantly, perhaps because they have learned similar things before. This is unusual. Reading a college textbook chapter a second or third time is normal and expected.
On average, most novels contain about a dozen chapters. But then, there are some that contain as many as 30-50 chapters. Some authors divide their story into parts –Part one, Part two, and so on– alongside the chapters. Again, this is to make the book, reader-friendly.
Currently, most schools will view your ACT Writing scores if you send them, but it won't at all be an important part of your application. Currently, six schools specifically state on their website that they recommend taking ACT Writing: Colorado School of Mines (CO) Bethune-Cookman University (FL)
At this time, very few colleges in the United States require an applicant to submit an ACT Writing score with their application. As of 2021, there are only eight schools that require students to submit a Writing score: Martin Luther College.
The simple answer is that the ACT essay prompt and scoring system has changed (that's not the only thing that's changed on the ACT — read this post for more on other changes: important changes to the new ACT.) What's more, the ACT is now reverting back from a 36 scale to a 12 scale this fall.
But here's the thing: While there were studies done that showed higher scores in one month than another, those months changed year to year. First experts would cry “December is easiest! Take it in December!” and a few years later they'd swear “May is by far easier!”
While you may wait to take it until the fall of your senior year, it's usually best to sit for the ACT sooner, ideally by the spring of your junior year. This ensures you have ample time to retake the exam (if desired) to try to raise your scores before your college application deadlines.
Plan to study for two hours each day, every day of the week leading up to your test. Readjust your schedule if necessary. You should aim to study for the ACT every day over the course of a few months, in addition to weekly timed practice tests.
Your opening scene should pique your reader's curiosity, establish your narrative voice, and serve a thematic introduction to the rest of the story. That's a lot of pressure to place on your first scene, which is why many people wait until they've written their whole book before returning to their opening lines.
Calculate how long you should spend on each section.
For example, If there are fifteen chapters and you have three hours, you should divide 180 (60 minutes x 3) by fifteen. In this example, each chapter will take, on average, 12 minutes.
Answer: the average reader takes about 2.8 hours to read 100 pages. You might take more or less time than 2.8 hours to read 100 pages, depending on your reading speed and the difficulty of your text. The average person's reading speed is around 300 words per minute (WPM).
Most experts agree that 3,000-5,000 words per chapter is a good guideline to follow. So, 12-27 chapters for a YA novel would be a good range to start with. From there, you can narrow it down a little more by checking out similar books within the specific genre you're writing.
What Is a Beat? In a screenplay or teleplay, a beat is a moment that propels the story forward and compels the viewer to take stock of what could happen next. Each scene may be comprised of several different beats. Some story beats are subtle, while others are obvious.
Beat Sheet is a popular story structure template that subdivides the beginning, middle, and end of a story into 15 “beats” or plot points. Each of these beats has a specific purpose and serves a particular function within your over-arching, global story.
Since there will be many plot points in a movie, I call these The Magnificent 7 Plot Points. They are: the Back Story, the Catalyst, the Big Event (we've mentioned that one), the Midpoint, the Crisis, the Climax, and the Realization. Let's start with the Back Story.
What is a Beat? Beats are the smallest UNIT OF STORY that writers use to convey the details of the ALTERNATE WORLD, AVATARS, and story events to their readers. A beat is a micro interaction that must always have an input and usually has an output.
The majority of modern beats can be broken down into only a few standard elements: a kick, a snare, some high-frequency percussion sounds, a bass, and at least one melodic element.
Variable Number of Scenes Per Chapter: You must have at least one scene per chapter. It may only be one word or one sentence, but it still counts as a scene.
A beat is often a sentence long, though sometimes it will be half a sentence or two to three sentences. A group of beats together builds a scene; a group of scenes builds a chapter; a group of chapters builds a novel.
Story structure, also known as narrative structure, is the order in which events are organized into a beginning, middle, and ending in a novel. A story's structure directly affects the way the plot unfolds and how its driving forces (characters, obstacles, setting, etc.) are introduced to the reader.
Quintuple meter or quintuple time is a musical meter characterized by five beats in a measure. They may consist of any combination of variably stressed or equally stressed beats.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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