{"id":1311,"date":"2020-06-19T14:44:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.korolov.com\/specficwriters\/?page_id=1311"},"modified":"2020-06-19T15:56:25","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T15:56:25","slug":"writing-book-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.korolov.com\/specficwriters\/writing-book-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing book recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel<\/strong><\/a> by Jessica Brody<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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This is a sequel to Blake Snyder\u2019s screenwriting classic Save the Cat!<\/a> (also a website.) This is a classic framework about hitting all the necessary beats in a story, and when exactly to hit them so that the story feels like it moves at just the right pace. I think this is one of those foundational books that everyone needs to read \u2014 or at least skim through \u2014 to get a sense of the ideas and the terms used. You can also find free cheatsheet summaries online pretty much everywhere, such as this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Writing the Blockbuster Novel<\/strong><\/a> by Albert Zuckerman<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Zuckerman \u2014 an agent who\u2019s represented some really huge names \u2014 really opens up your eyes about what really made a novel go viral, where people love it so much they recommend it to everyone. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He talks about having high stakes, larger than life characters, a clear foundation for suspense, an outlandish premise, captivating setting \u2014 and outlining. He also recommends having three to four different points of view in the novel. There\u2019s a nice long summary of the book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing Blockbuster Plots<\/strong><\/a> by Martha Alderson<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This is a very hands-on guide to plotting. According to the book, plots are a series of scenes <\/strong>that are deliberately arranged by cause and effect<\/strong> to create dramatic action<\/strong> filled with tension and conflict<\/strong> to further the character\u2019s emotional development<\/strong> and provide thematic significance<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The author goes through each of these topics one by one, with charts and graphs, and provides tips for how to track each of these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems<\/strong><\/a> by Janice Hardy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Janice Hardy runs the awesome Fiction University<\/a> site. In this book, she goes through a whole bunch of possible plot problem, like how to fix endings that don\u2019t resolve the core conflict, or dealing with too much or not enough setups, or fixing endings that don\u2019t involve the protagonist, or how to make information-heavy scenes more tense, or ways to add subplots.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is a really nice reference to keep on your shelf. It seems aimed at the revision process and is organized like a series of do-it-yourself workshops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we as a group ever decide to do a topic-oriented meeting structure \u2014 or add a topic to our weekly meetings on top of whatever we\u2019re reading at the time \u2014 then this could be a great format. We could pick a different one each week and look at examples of our work that illustrate the problem and really dig down on ways to fix it. You could bring in an example of your own work that has this problem, or a piece of a famous book or story that we all know, and discuss that, to help develop those skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Off Your Pants!<\/strong><\/a> By Libbie Hawker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m reading this now, based on the recommendation of someone in my Sunday afternoon writers\u2019 group. She basically talks about the same things as many of the other books I\u2019ve read on this topic \u2014 start with a theme, focus on a character with a flaw and put the character arc first, then the plot will come from that. She\u2019s got an interesting thing about allies \u2014 people who force the protagonist to change for the better. This was something new. Antagonist also force change, by providing an example of what not to do, but allies give a positive example and direction. I liked this a lot, gave me something to think about in terms of how I structure my book. Plus, it\u2019s super easy to read.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock<\/strong><\/a> by Joyce Sweeney, Jamie Morris, and Tia Levings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This is a short book \u2014 free on Kindle Unlimited \u2014 and has a cute little clock device for setting up plots. It\u2019s the same Save-the-Cat beatsheet kind of thing, but with the beats arranged in a circle instead of a line. But it\u2019s cute, if you want to have a circle diagram instead of a linear one.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The 24 Laws of Storytelling<\/strong><\/a> by Jonathan Baldie<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Great summary of the top things you should watch out for in a book, and very readable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n