Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Today I finished reading Plot & Structure: Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish by James Scott Bell.

I've resisted reading this how-to book for a long time.  That was a mistake.  I thought that I really understood 3 Act Structure so there was nothing I could gain from this book.

While I probably didn't learn anything new about 3 Act Structure, I didn't waste my time.  I learned many new things.

Back in February I sent my outline for my WIP to two editors for their review of my story.  I was after a development edit.  What I got back from both editors was that my story wasn't ready for prime time.  Editor number one was positive and encouraging while pointing out my weaknesses.  Editor number two was brutally frank.  She commented on only the first act. She said, after you've changed the outline to introduce the protagonist in scene 1 and changed this, and this, and this. (You get the idea.) Then send me your revised outline before we go any further.

I got hung up on her point that my protagonist must appear in the first scene.  I frankly didn't get it.  My big opening scene had my antagonist up to his dirty work.  I had only already revised the opening scene a bajillion times and I liked what I had.   I didn't revise the opening scene or make the other changes.  I was stuck.  I couldn't imagine how to do what she wanted.  The story just had to begin with the antagonist's dirty work.

Then I discovered Bridging Conflict in Plot & Structure.  The answer to my problem.

This book is so much more than just another book on structure.  It has some of the best how-to advice I've read.  Don't miss it.

I give the book 4 stars.

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success by K. M. Weiland

Today I finished reading Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success by K. M. Weiland.

I follow Ms. Weiland's blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors.  And I have found her writing advice to be very sound.  So when she published Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success, I bought and read a copy.

I'm a planner so the idea of planning a novel via an outline is my natural course.  I'm a big fan of Larry Brooks' how-to-write books and his Story Fix blog.  I found Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success gave me many practical ideas on how to implement an outline.  And while she may have plowed the ground before in her blog, this presentation is fresh.

Inside Story by Dara Marks

Today I finished reading Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc  by Dara Marks.

I give this book five stars.  Absolutely the best how to write book I've read.  This was my third read through.  And was done in preparation for revising my work in process, Bon Secour.


If you're interested in being a better writer or screen writer, you need to read this book.

How I Write a Script by Scott Myers, Part III

Ok, I’ve got forty-five 3x5 cards, one for each scene in my work-in-progress, Bon Secur. I think I have all the major story points covered. Now what? That’s the subject of Scott Myers sixth part of his How I Write a Script blog. You can read his full blog at: http://www.gointothestory.com/2008/06/how-i-write-script-part-6.html

He writes, “I start by transcribing the content of the cards into a new Word file called Story Outline. I generally will have written down notes and ideas on the cards related to each scene or beat, so that information goes into the outline as well.”

“The goal here is to create a blueprint with Scene 1, followed by Scene 2, Scene 3, all the way to the last scene and FADE OUT. The hard work here is to make sure as best as I can that the story tracks and handles all the subplots. A final consideration is to think about the transitions, how to make each shift from one scene and sequence to the next is as smooth and seamless as possible.”


“Apart from locking down the story’s structure, I also think about every scene, asking a series of questions:
* What is the point of the scene?
* What is the scene's Beginning, Middle, and Ending?
* What characters should be in the scene and why?
* How do I enter / exit the scene?”


“That can change in the actual writing of the script – as well as scene order – but I like thinking through my scenes in advance.”


“My outlines can be quite long. I just pulled out one from my files that is 22 single-spaced pages. But then, I like to throw in everything I dredge up for each scene: images, bits of dialogue, Internal World dynamics, transitions, and so on.”


“Okay, now I want you to take a deep breath and realize something: All that -- story concept, brainstorming, research, character development, plotting, and outline -- and I haven’t written one word of the actual script. I have found doing the hard work up front, what I call prep-writing, gives me more room for creative thinking in my page-writing process.”


“Let's me be clear: I am not saying that every writer has to work this way. Each writer has to find the approach that works for them.”

Tomorrow, I’d like to introduce you to Scott’s Script Diary.

Like most of you, I have Word loaded on my computer and could create my outline in Word as Scott suggests.  But, as you might guess, I'm a sucker for gadgets and software.  I purchased Write Brothers' Outline 4D.  I've been using it to outline novels written by favorite authors and films as a part of my study of story structure.  I've been very pleased with it during the limited time that I have been using it.  When I've answered Scott's questions regarding each scene I'll be dusting off Outliner 4D and applying it to Bon Secur.  That will be the real test.

How I Write a Script by Scott Myers, Part II

I am so afraid of not being able to write with an interesting voice like my favorite authors that I am beating my story's structure to death. A friend asked me Thursday when I was going to actually begin writing my work-in-progress, Bon Secur. I replied, "When I have the story completely figured out."

My thinking is, "If my story's structure is good enough my reader might forgive the greenness of my prose." That’s my hope anyway.

When I first started reading books on how to write a novel, my biggest problem in understanding how to write a novel was the answer to the question, “How do you structure a story?” I could grasp point of view, voice, setting, character, and conflict. But how you tell the story evaded me. Then, I discovered Larry Brooks’ blog at StoryFix.com  where he introduced me to the idea of using screenwriting story structure for a novel. Bingo! I had my answer.

Larry Brooks labels the way writers approach creating the story as planning or 'pantsing'. A 'pantser' creates the plot by the seat of his pants making it up as he goes. A planner organizes, outlines, and plots the story before writing. My personality makes me a huge planner. And, I am fascinated about how others approach the planning process.

Yesterday, I commented on the first four parts of a ten part blog series posted at Go Into The Story by Scott Myers in June, 2008. Today I’d like to tell you about his post on Plotting. You can read his complete blog at: http://www.gointothestory.com/2008/06/how-i-write-script-part-5.html

In his blog, Scott Myers describes how after analyzing his brainstorming list which was augmented by scenes and moments that arose as he was generating characters, he writes down what he thinks are interesting beats, scenes or dynamics on index cards – one per 3x5 index card. “After I’ve written all the beats, scenes, and dynamics onto individual cards, I divide them into three stacks: Act I, Act II, and Act III. Basically if it feels like something that has to do with setting up the story, that goes into the first stack. If it feels like something that has to do with the final struggle, that goes into the third stack. And everything else goes into the second stack.”

“I take special care to see if I can find four major plot points….You gotta know four things before you start to write a script. What's the beginning? What's the end of Act One? What's the end of Act Two? And what's the ending? If you know those four things, you can write a script."

“Then I go through the three card stacks, sorting and re-sorting the cards. I’ll read through the beats to get a sense if a narrative flow is starting to emerge. If I’ve done my job right, really brainstormed, really researched the story world, really dug into my characters, then the plotting process can be a pretty smooth one. I pay particularly close attention to the Protagonist's transformation [assuming the story has one], what I look at as four movements Disunity (Act 1 - Deconstruction (Act 2A) - Reconstruction (Act 2B) - Unity (Act 3), as that almost always provides an emotional spine to the story.”


“Every screenplay paradigm seems to have a certain number of "plot points": My own approach (Narrative Throughline) has ten. Before I move on, I want to identify those ten major events. If I know I need to have a major plot point, but haven’t come up with the specifics, then I just write “Something Happens Here” on a card, and include it in the stack. Of course, I have to do some brainstorming to try to come up with a great sequence to serve that narrative function, maybe more research or spending time with characters, but eventually I try to uncover those 10 plot points.”


“Then I like to tack the cards up on a wall, so I see the plot unfolding left to right. I may shift cards around as the story can feel different when looked at in a linear fashion. When I feel comfortable with the plot, I know I'm ready to go to the next step -- outline. “

In my next post, I want to share with you Scott’s approach to outlining.

Many how-to-screenwrite books describe the story board / 3x5 card method of organizing a story.  I like the way Scott describes it.  If you need another software program, there is a cool storyboard application sold by Save The Cat.  It gives you a great way to digitally organize your story and print 3x5 cards that you can post on the wall or a bulletin board.  I purchased it and am using it for Bon Secur. 

Other than not being able to locate the Avery 3x5 cards that will work with my printer at my local Office Depot, I have no complaints.  For now, I'm printing onto plain paper and gluing to 3x5 cards.

Develop Structure During the Re-Write of a Novel – No, Start With Structure!

I read the most incredible book review this weekend. And by incredible, I mean, "I don’t believe it."

Backstory:  [book title] was written a few years ago. It consisted of a series of exercises which if followed each weekend would guide the beginning novelist through the process of creating a novel. (The name of the book and author will remain nameless because I’m not supposed to say anything if I can’t say something nice.)   Anyway, [book title] sounds like the kind of book I'd buy, a how-to-write for a beginning writer.  You can't get more newbie than me.


Today, while waiting for the Jimmy Buffett concert to air on CMT, (I couldn’t get any free tickets either) I was flipping through the pages of the latest issue of The Writer and my eyes spotted the review of a new book that was billed as Part 2 of [book title] described above.

I said to myself, “Oh, good! It’s another how to write a novel book. I wonder if I’d like to read it?”

The reviewer wrote, “While [author’s] [book title] was aimed at aspiring authors, this companion book assumes a reader with a first draft in hand. You should be prepared to revise extensively by adding and recasting scenes, inventing backstories for characters, even exploring the roles that major objects play. [words followed about rewriting a novel using film structure.]

[Author] believes that story and structure (the strategic arrangements of parts) comes first, Specifically, he addresses writer’s tools, backstory and flashbacks, suspense, subplots – the story lines of antagonists and minor figures and seven critical scenes proceeding along the novel’s main plot….

The bulk of rewriting involves major scenes tied to the protagonist’s plot. Most readers will already place extra weight on the beginning and end, the climax, and the first meetings between major characters. Less familiar – but just as vital, [Author] says – are the midpoint – the central scene and “the heart of your novel”) and two “plot points” situated in the first and third acts.

[later in the article] Like any writer, [Author] makes some assumptions about just what a novel should be, stating that “you are rewriting a novel that must fight for space in a world of screens (TV, film, computer).” Thus, his advice tends to favor fast-paced, traditionally plotted narratives and near-cinematic prose.”

Whoa! Wait a minute! You don’t tell me about cinematic structure until I’ve finished writing my novel. And, then, you want me to tear up what I've just spent a year of weekends writing.  You want me to go back and write it again, this time using the cinematic structure you didn’t bother to tell me about in your first book. Author, doesn’t that seem to you to be a huge waste of weekends for anyone buying your current edition of [book title].


Author, if you think cinematic structure is the best way to write a novel, own up to it and publish a new edition of your first book to reflect it.

Stories need structure from the get go. Not as a rewrite step. I’m a rank newbie, but, even I get that.