# Chapter / scene map

Make a rough list. Change the order whenever the draft teaches you something.

| Chapter or scene | What changes / what the reader learns | What must come before it? | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | | | Idea |
| 2 | | | Idea |
| 3 | | | Idea |

Useful statuses: Idea, Drafting, Rough draft, Revising, Ready for a reader.

## Copy this card for a chapter

Working title:

Purpose in one sentence:

Opening situation or reader question:

Main event, argument, or example:

What is different by the end?

What makes the reader want or need the next chapter?

Questions to park for later:

## Fiction example

A caretaker finds a letter addressed to a tenant who vanished. She must decide whether to open it. By the end she has opened it and discovered her own name inside. The next scene follows her attempt to find the sender.

## Nonfiction example

The reader is unsure how often to water a balcony herb garden. Show a simple soil check, explain what the result means, and give an example of adjusting after hot weather. The next chapter deals with a plant that still looks unhappy.