Outlining Your Novel (Example)
Fae Prince - Kingdom A
Fae Princess - Kingdom B (Father is dead and mother is deathly ill)
The princess is to marry the prince to save the kingdom, but she's already in love with another man. She and her lover conjure up a plan to slay the prince so they can be together, however, when the time comes, she can't commit. (Friendship with the prince.)
Scene Outline
Princess and her lover are picnicking in the meadow. They part ways. (He's a soldier).
That night, there are foreigners in the princess’s palace talking to the council and sick mother. She thinks it's some kind of trade deal (it is in a way) but she learns of the marriage and says she won't do it. She finds her lover and he consoles her. She wants to run away but he has a better idea. If the prince is dead, she won't have to marry him.
The prince arrives in Kingdom B with an entourage to get a feel for the palace. At the Winter Ball is when he's supposed to publicly announce the union between the kingdoms, so they have until then to end his life.
The princess immediately hates the prince. He's arrogant, he's an asshole, and he doesn't acknowledge her in her own palace. The Winter Ball can't come fast enough.
Unfortunately, she has to accompany the prince everywhere he goes. She can't spend time with her lover, and she's miserable. (Now, let's give them something to do). The prince is a terrible archer. Laughable. The princess is a phenomenal archer. The prince can't swim, he can't fight. All the things she excels at. She's having fun watching him embarrass himself. She aids him out of pity. 2 CHAPTERS. Dialogue heavy.
(Let's give them a shared task. Their own mini mission.) Goblins have attacked a village, and he wants to see the damage for himself. We get to see the princess interact with her people. Maybe she and her lover get a little alone time.
On the way home, they get attacked by goblins (of course). The prince shows an uncanny skill with a sword. It's like he transformed into a completely different person. Where was he on the training grounds? When she confronts him, he says he got lucky, but he seems very upset about the injury she sustained though she said it's nothing serious.
The following morning, the prince isn't there for breakfast. She wants to know where he is, but his entourage isn't speaking. That evening, he comes back, bloodied, and wounded. He passes out in the palace lobby. When he wakes up, he admits to finding the goblins' lair and killing every single one of them.
Now that he's bedridden for a few days with his own injuries, she gets to know him a little better. He's talking more. She discovers he's an incredible painter…because now the walls in his room mirror the meadow outside the palace. He says he gets bored easily.
(We continue to build their relationship/friendship until the Winter Ball. She can't go through with the assassination.)