Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by [Jessica Brody]

This is a sequel to Blake Snyder’s screenwriting classic Save the Cat! (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 — or at least skim through — 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.

Writing the Blockbuster Novel by Albert Zuckerman

Writing the Blockbuster Novel by [Albert Zuckerman]

Zuckerman — an agent who’s represented some really huge names — really opens up your eyes about what really made a novel go viral, where people love it so much they recommend it to everyone.

He talks about having high stakes, larger than life characters, a clear foundation for suspense, an outlandish premise, captivating setting — and outlining. He also recommends having three to four different points of view in the novel. There’s a nice long summary of the book here.

Writing Blockbuster Plots by Martha Alderson

This is a very hands-on guide to plotting. According to the book, plots are a series of scenes that are deliberately arranged by cause and effect to create dramatic action filled with tension and conflict to further the character’s emotional development and provide thematic significance.

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.

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems by Janice Hardy

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems: Book Two: Revising Your Novel by [Janice Hardy]

Janice Hardy runs the awesome Fiction University site. In this book, she goes through a whole bunch of possible plot problem, like how to fix endings that don’t resolve the core conflict, or dealing with too much or not enough setups, or fixing endings that don’t involve the protagonist, or how to make information-heavy scenes more tense, or ways to add subplots.

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.

If we as a group ever decide to do a topic-oriented meeting structure — or add a topic to our weekly meetings on top of whatever we’re reading at the time — 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.

Take Off Your Pants! By Libbie Hawker

I’m reading this now, based on the recommendation of someone in my Sunday afternoon writers’ group. She basically talks about the same things as many of the other books I’ve read on this topic — 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’s got an interesting thing about allies — 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’s super easy to read.

Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock by Joyce Sweeney, Jamie Morris, and Tia Levings

Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock by [Joyce Sweeney Jamie Morris Tia Levings, Jamie Morris, Tia Levings]

This is a short book — free on Kindle Unlimited — and has a cute little clock device for setting up plots. It’s the same Save-the-Cat beatsheet kind of thing, but with the beats arranged in a circle instead of a line. But it’s cute, if you want to have a circle diagram instead of a linear one.

The 24 Laws of Storytelling by Jonathan Baldie

The 24 Laws of Storytelling: A Practical Handbook for Great Storytellers by [Jonathan Baldie]

Great summary of the top things you should watch out for in a book, and very readable.

Here’s the summary:

  • Law 1: Be cruel to your characters
  • Law 2: End quickly at the moment of catharsis
  • Law 3: Trust flaws more than strengths
  • Law 4: Show, don’t tell
  • Law 5: Reflect reality in fantasy
  • Law 6: Make your villain the hero of their story
  • Law 7: Weave foreshadowing into the plot seamlessly
  • Law 8: Structure your story around change
  • Law 9: Subvert expectations
  • Law 10: Conflict is everything
  • Law 11: Characters must learn from their mistakes
  • Law 12: Hero and villain must share the same goal
  • Law 13: Series are a right, not a privilege
  • Law 14: Make bold choices
  • Law 15: Tighten relentlessly
  • Law 16: Humor is always welcome
  • Law 17: Write along the line of greatest intuition
  • Law 18: Accord with timeless myths
  • Law 19: Build tension with a ticking time bomb
  • Law 20: Concentrate dynamic impact
  • Law 21: Description is telepathy
  • Law 22: Great dialogue is about what’s not said
  • Law 23: Write proactive characters
  • Law 24: Point everything to the end and beyond