Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction) by James Scott Bell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)
Book Review: Plot and Structure
Summary: 4 Stars
Plot and Structure gives a 1, 2, 3, way of putting together either a short story or a novel. I found it easy to use and very helpful.Book Review: very helpful book on plotting and structuring fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
This is part of the Write Great Fiction series from Writer's Digest. Each book in the series covers one broad aspect of writing fiction, and of course there is some overlap as well.
I liked this book a lot, and learned a good deal from it. Bell recognizes that different stories and different writers need to approach plotting in different ways, so this is not a cookie-cutter approach to plot construction. Earlier on, we are introduced to the difference between literary fiction and commercial fiction, which Bell elucidates particularly well. The book includes a lot of diagrams to clarify things like rising intensity, crisis points, setbacks, and so on.
Bell's mnemonic for basic plotting is LOCK (lead, objective, confrontation, knockout). After introducing that framework, he goes on to talk about what makes a good beginning, middle, and end. Although most of the examples come from novels, the basic ideas apply to short fiction with little adaptation.
There is a good discussion of the three-act structure (and how it relates to other structures, such as the hero's journey). The chapter on scene writing is solid - he describes action and reaction as the major chords in fiction, and setup and deepening as minor chords. This is a good way to stay focused on what a scene needs to do, without getting pulled into excessive exposition.
There is a lot of good advice in dealing with complex plots and common plot problems, and a review of common plot patterns and what each entails. The interaction between plot and character development is approached from several different angles.
When it comes to outlining, Bell recognizes that some writers are drawn to outlining and others avoid it; he offers tips for people in both camps, without trying to impose his own method on his readers.
This book has exercises at the end of each chapter, which I did not do much with. Mostly, they are just questions to ask about books you have read or about your own work in progress.
While I don't necessarily think every writer needs to own each book in this series, getting one or two of them (on subjects that you find particularly interesting or challenging) is probably a worthwhile investment. I can recommend this book as a solid resource for dealing with plot and structure in fiction writing.
Book Review: One of the best writing guides I've found
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has helped transform the general story idea in my head into a well structured plot that does all the things I wanted it to accomplish. It explores great ways to: keep your reader's interest piqued through any stage of the book, construct strong scenes, and build a plot schematic for your story to follow. I've been impressed with every book in the Write Great Fiction series and would highly reccomend them to any writer.Book Review: One of the best how-to-write books ever
Summary: 5 Stars
This book came highly recommended, yet still managed to exceed my expectations. Like its author, I've always been able to write, but have had real problems with plotting--with the basic structure of a novel. Since I'm completely disinterested in "literary" fiction and want to learn to write compelling, can't-put-it-down genre books, understanding plotting is absolutely essential.
After studying this book, I finally "got it"! Bell explains with great clarity exactly how a page-turner is constructed and the reasons for each "bone" in the structure of a great book. When I complete the manuscript on which I'm now working, I'm thinking of unearthing one I wrote and rewrote and re-rewrote years ago, since now the errors I made are clear to me at last.
Book Review: To write average prose, follow ten easy steps...
Summary: 2 Stars
Every so often I get insecure in my efforts to write a decent book, and I check out one of these craft books. Often they help, often not. This one falls in the latter category. It outlines the most common concepts of the most common fiction (the necessity of conflict, an objective for the main character, opposition thereto, the three act structure, etc.), and tells you how to fill in this cookie-cutter design and maybe tweak the shape so you come up with a new variation on the reindeer or the Christmas tree (or the thriller or the mystery or the romance). The section on plotting can be summarized as, "If you're going to plot, and you should, just think of anything that could happen, write it on a card, fill lots of cards, and then put the cards into a sequence that leads to someone getting shot and then someone else having to deal with it." I exaggerate, but only slightly. A good scene usually ends in some sort of drastic action, a gunshot being a good example. Passing reference is occasionally made to literary fiction as something that could involve more subtle developments, and everything else herein is only useful for the true novice or the genre writer. Which has it's purpose. The most basic basics must be learned. Maybe this is a good place to get them. If you do order this, even if you have never written before, you will smack your head a lot and go, Duh, that makes sense. Of course!... (BTW, I'm no literary snob and certainly not writing from any position of authority. The writer of this book had published some books. If you read this and follow his advice, you might too. They might even get published. They will not be that ultra-subtle stuff where nothing happens, and not very interestingly, for hundreds of pages and we are made to suffer the 'artists' pretension--and that's certainly a good thing. But to learn to write exciting, lively prose, this doesn't seem like the route.)