Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys For Writing An Outstanding Story (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I can remember asking my uni supervisor how to structure a novel and he said it boils down to the character and he was right of course but I was after an easy fix -- I would have liked reading Structuring your Novel when I was beginning to write novels. In the absence of Kay Weiland's book I pulled apart novels that I felt worked well and decided what it was which made me feel that, and, as I was told, to 'work more on character'. Structuring your novel is helpful when writing genre but those not writing genre are concerned lest formula takes over and stifles creativity. As Somerset Maugham said, there are no rules, but this sort of book can certainly give help if we get stuck. I found some good reminders: the more similar the hero and villain, the stronger the story and more realistic the characters; building conflict raises stakes; conflict is the life blood of fiction, and works when the characters are acting honestly; a good reminder not to resolve too fast, and don't be too easy on your characters. My supervisor always said to push the characters, and see what they will do. Interesting section on the difference between conflict and tension. Good to see the section on writing scenes. When judging a writing competition I was surprised to see a lack of scene writing-- summary and report and even monologues but not many scenes. I gave prizes to the writers who wrote in scenes. Kay Weiland also includes good writing practice at sentence level. So glad she gives reasons for not doing such things as starting sentences with participle verbs (I.e. an 'ing' verb). A very helpful book for those who like rules or a plan to follow. Not everyone does -- some just write and see what happens. Thank you, K. M. Weiland, for your many, many, many examples from film and literature. I, personally, am very grateful for them. As a visual learner, this book was very helpful in many ways, not only was I able to read at a more detailed level about the art of structuring your novel, there were many examples which I, a lot of times, am starved for. As a previous OYANer, I was delighted to again see many of the things I learned from Mr. Schwabauer riddled throughout the book, and in more detail. I wanted to read this book hoping it would help with the second act of my stories, which I find very hard to construct. And it did. It sparked my imagination!
What do You think about Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys For Writing An Outstanding Story (2013)?
Stuff I knew instinctively & stuff I didn't express laid out ckearly &eloquently fo future reference
—damon
Excellent advice, tips and recommendations for aspiring authors.
—byh4o
A lot of practical advice and great information.
—oceanbaby
