Plot vs. Story: The Key to Writing a Compelling Novel Many writers, even seasoned ones, often confuse the terms plot and story, using them interchangeably. However, as I explain in How to Fix Your Novel, understanding the crucial difference between these two elements can significantly improve your writing. By keeping plot and story distinct, you…
Category: Structure
A Scientific Approach to Scene and Sequel
Author Ian Fanselow breaks down his methodical approach to writing with an example scene from his new novel “Worlds Apart” I am a very methodical person and planning is my strength. So when I learned about the idea of “Scene and Sequel” it immediately clicked for me, and I developed a system I used for…
Manuscript Evaluation Checklist
Three Act Structure Chart
This handy chart was created by Advanced Fiction Writing student David Lovelock, who explained: When constructing outlines for a novel, I like to create a one-page overview that allows me to visualize and move my ideas around. Attached is what I’ve created to help with creating the main points of a Three Act Structure. I…
Analysis: Moana (2016)
Moana has been on my mind recently thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s adorable video singing his rap to his one-year-old. Like most kid’s movies, Moana’s structure is impeccable. And, like most musicals, some of the nine story structure checkpoints even get their own song! Here’s how this movie breaks down: Act 1 Hook The…
Analysis: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Like many romance novels, this book has two protagonists. That means there are two complete sets of story structure checkpoints woven together. First, here’s a quick summary: Stella Lane is a smart woman. She loves numbers, statistics, and algorithms. She has very little dating or sexual experience because, frankly, she doesn’t find it that appealing….
Guest Post: Applying 3-Act Structure to a Picture Book
I would like to sincerely thank Steve and Dani for giving me the opportunity to share my experience writing Sade: We’re Moving to Canada! on this blog, and to provide a free copy of the book to the Writing Academy community. I have been writing on and off since I was a kid. I describe…
Scene and Sequel
By Melinda Goodin Those who have read my work know that my stories tend to start with a bang — literally. If it’s not a space station exploding, it’s a church catching on fire or a laboratory or… And the pace gets faster from there. Critiquers have often commented that they ended up feeling breathless…
New Book: Writing Young Adult Fiction
After two years of editing(!) Dani’s and my new book, Writing Young Adult Fiction, is about to be published. As one of our fans, I’d like to extend this special pre-publication offer to you: get the Kindle book for just $2.99, or get it for free when you purchase the paperback. My favorite part of the book…
Story Patterns
The original url for this post was writetabulous.com I recently attended a writer’s workshop that was hosted by a local writers group. The presenter, Judy Olsen, talked about story patterns and how learning and using one of five basic constructs could make a world of difference in your writing success. Since I have never structured a book…