Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story

Very helpful resource, covering the basics and going deeper, and using practical examples to illustrate the key points. I appreciated how this one book addressed structure on the overall book level, and on the scene and sequel level, and on the sentence level. We need all three of these components. (Writers of short stories will still benefit from the scene/sequel and sentence structure sections.) I've read enough writing resources by now that I don't know if I encountered anything new here, but the presentation made clear sense and I've highlighted many spots to refer back to. I expect this is a book I'll re-read and continue to learn from.

This book is easy and delightful to read while giving useful information in a unique, and sometimes entertaining way. The author gives examples to highlight certain points as well as providing a FAQ of do's and don'ts. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book while gaining insights into story structure with a few hints and tips on grammar, and sentence construction.

This entire collection is a great tool for anyone aspiring to become an author. I highly recommend this and all the others

I had a blast with this book and I hope I can put all of its teachings to good use soon

This book provides a solid in-depth exploration of story structure for aspiring writers. It breaks down each part of the structure, providing questions and activities to help the writer use it directly in their Work in Progress; to infuse their story with power and lasting impact on readers. Plus, the author provides examples so you can see how the principle is used in films and books (hint - also look at her Story Structure Database at her website Helpingwritersbecomeauthors dot com ). The author does a good job of helping you understand what the reader is looking for, and how to provide a rich experience for them. She has included several additional chapters that highlight often overlooked components of storytelling. For example, Chapter 2 discusses where to begin telling your story - with action, character, setting, or in Media Res and how each of these shape plot. As with other books by KM Weiland, you get a lot of bang for your buck. She has a deep understanding of story and her direct, simple style of writing will help you understand the principles quickly, and use them immediately. I used this book on its own while developing a story, and have since purchased the companion workbook: Structuring Your Novel Workbook: Hands-On Help for Building Strong and Successful Stories, also by KM Weiland. The only improvement I could suggest would be a short chapter at the beginning that gives an overview of structure - the pieces involved and their proportionate use in a book or movie. It would set a map for the reader to follow, which then unfolds in the following chapters. this may be more of a personal preference - I like to learn and approach subjects from a high-level view first, then delve into the details. For a person just starting to write their first stories, it could be helpful. Great job, KM, I enjoyed using and learning from this book.