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4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 24 reviews
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★★★★★ 5
Have no fear!, or The writer's Victorinox.
Format: Kindle
You can't praise this book enough. There are a ton of how-to books out there, but this one really made a difference for me.
Think of writing as a journey through the woods: You set up, you get in the muddle, and you come out (hopefully) on the other side. When doing this, we try to use as many tools and resources as we can to make it to the other side, but most of the time you fail (or tools fail on you) and you end up starving or being eaten by some wild animal in the muddle of the story. What James Scott Bell wants you to have in clear is that the most useful tool you can have out there is YOU. And all of his tips, advice and excercises are aimed to one thing and one thing only: how to unleash and harness the power of your story (and survive).
It provides clear, straight-forward tools and tips, adressing many aspects of the writing process you won't find in many of them. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the study of plots and storytelling. Relevant examples that take in consideration a wide array of writer profiles, and Bell does not abuse with film examples (and most of the movies it references are also books i.e.: the maltesse falcon, the godfather, etc.). It contains useful excercises at the end of each chapter to help you put the tehcniques in practice and bring the best out of your learning experience. It really helped me overcome several issues I had with my novel-writing and opened my mind to a new scope on plot and str.. This is a wonderful book, written in the same gripping style that the author suggests to use, and with great success.
I think this is a wonderful book because it does not give infalible advice. To me that is very important. Let me ilustrate how I felt by giving you the following example:
(after developing content)
-Regular book: so just do This (and fail, miserably).
-Bell's book: Many writers had this problem before and by doing This you might also find a solution for it. In case That doesn't work, you could maybe try This, or come back at it again later on with a fresh view and give it another try.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
★★★★★ 5
Excellent resource
Format: Paperback
Two novel ideas ago, I had to put that one aside because I stuffed it to the point where the story made no sense. I intend to go back to it at some point, but for now, it's collecting dust.
Also collecting dust is my more recent idea. I started with an outline (of sorts), wrote and rewrote it a few times...only to get stuck on Chapter 8 or so. I didn't know where to take the story. This one will probably never get resurrected...but you never know.
Which leads me to one of the best things in this book: outlining with index cards. There's at least one other book touting this, but I'm sure there are others that do. What sets this one apart, in my mind, is his suggestions on how to set it up. This doesn't comprise a huge part of the book, but it made enough sense to me that I decided to give it a whirl.
Almost 50,000 words later, I'm still chugging along, taking into mind his ideas (I'd never heard it put quite this way) about doorways of no return (more on that in a moment). Sure, I've made some changes, throwing out cards, rearranging cards, adding cards. That's the beauty of this system: it's not set in granite. If your muse takes you in a way that's different from what you originally wrote, go for it!
Mr. Bell explains the doorways simply, at first, as transitions - from beginning to middle and then middle to ending. The first doorway gets your Main Character from beginning to middle; the idea is to create a scene where the MC is thrust into conflict in a way that keeps him/her there. With the second doorway (middle to ending), something has to happen to set up the final confrontation. It's usually a huge clue, a big piece of information, or a major crisis that sends the MC hurtling towards the conclusion. Mr. Bell explains these in greater detail, and I found his explanations quite understandable.
But there's more to this book than that. Mr. Bell gets into how to come up with plot ideas, character arcs, revising, plot problems and cures, scenes, and tips and tools. I wasn't bothered by his reusing some of the same good writing examples, but it may make you cringe or roll your eyes.
Other than that minor quibble, I think everything else about this book makes it shine as a writer's resource.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2006
★★★★★ 5
Most Helpful Book I've Read on Plot and Structure
Format: Paperback
This is a well-organized, easy-to-read guide to techniques used to develop plots and sound story structure. It includes 14 chapters and two appendices. They cover such topics as what a plot is, how structure holds plot together, how to get ideas, and how to handle/interweave plot into all the levels of a novel (from whole sections such as the Beginning or middle of the work, down to the micro level of individual scenes). He includes discussion of different "plotting systems" (from writing by "the seat of your pants" to types/methods of creating outlines of various levels of "thoroughness" for those interested in mild outlining to someone with full-blown OCD). It discusses complex plots and sub plots, character arcs in relation to plot, common problems and solutions, revision, and more. Every chapter ends with a few exercises to reinforce the topic covered. The two appendices are a checklist for reminding you of major plot components as you write, and how to create "back cover" (aka the blurbs on the back of your book, or the summaries on the inside flap of dust jackets).
As a writer, I am a "seat of the pants" guy, who's reluctantly recognized it isn't working for me (a major motivation for getting this book). Bell's discussion of different styles of outlining, though brief, gave me ideas of how to proceed. While I've often read books that include exercises, I confess to rarely doing them -- Bell is an exception (no, I didn't do *all* of them, but.... :) ). His text uses plenty of examples, drawn from movies and well-known novels. I've read other works on plot and structure (both general books and at least two dedicated to these topics), and have found this one to be by far the most readable, instructive, easy-to-digest, and *helpful.*
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Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017
★★★★★ 5
I have a few instructional writing books I reread; this is one of them.
Format: Paperback
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell may be the best book for plotting and creating structure in fiction stories that I’ve read.
I have a few instructional writing books I reread; this is one of them.
Plot & Structure works for writers who don’t use outlines and for those who do. Throughout Bell acknowledges and addresses how his ideas about plot and structure can be used by all writers. This isn’t a “my way or the highway” kind of book. Bell gives practical advice for all writers.
What’s so great about Plot & Structure? The biggest plus is Bell’s practical and down to earth strategies and clear explanations.
Here are the other greats:
Bell’s approach isn’t a how-to formula; it’s more of a guide. His genre is thrillers, but he addresses the needs of other genres as well as those of literary fiction.
He provides many strategies writers can use to approach plot and structure; plus, he encourages readers to find their own way of working.
The exercises at the end of the chapters are practical. If you try some of them, you’ll discover that they aren’t busywork but helpful approaches to solving writing issues.
Unless you’re a pro with so many publications behind you that you don’t need help, this isn’t a book to read once and put away. It’s a book you’ll come back to and get more out of with a second or third reading.
If you want a formula or step-by-step program, this isn’t a book for you. He gives choices so you can find you own style and way of working. Which is one of the things like I about the book. It’s like going to a writer buffet and choose the strategies that work for you.
If you are someone who writes without an outline, you are going to be surprised because Bell doesn’t leave you out of any of the equations. He has strategies for all writers.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2014
★★★★★ 5
Great advice, guidelines, and suggestions: Bell writes with a contagiously inspiring attitude
Format: Paperback
I admire good organization when it comes to most things, especially in a book that purports to teach about structure. The organization of the book makes it easy to go back and reread a part; for example, if you are working on a beginning, middle, or end section in your fictional story, there are corresponding chapters for what you need. Each chapter has ending exercises that I imagine to be helpful, but I haven't actually worked them through although I've read them.
You will read about elements that you need to know to how to do to write an appealing story, like characterization, settings, dialogue, and scene selection. It is recommended that you get a book with these elements as the main focus for a more detailed, expansive treatment (if you haven't done so already). Bell is most helpful on how to construct a scene. However, he does not have much to say about description, other than that it has a tendency to slow the plot and you should give details as needed but not more than that (on the line of a need-to-know-type of basis).
Bell also has sections on how to brainstorm plot ideas and test whether the ideas are worthy of attention. This was something I needed to do with my last story idea that burned and crashed. Furthermore he tells of "plotting systems" used by many writers, which are the-strict-only-by-the-outline group (OPs) or the free-rein-no-outline group (NOPs) and writers using a little of both.
The suggestions and tips are conveyed in a way that you can take and adapt them to your style. The chapter on common plot problems was very helpful. He even tells of how he squeezes in his writing time. Bell's way doesn't work for me, but you can take it and suit it to your own circumstances.
What I like about Bell is that he writes in a non-demeaning way to new writers. There are some writing books which take punches at new writers, be it ever so subtly or blatantly (I would rather not name any names), even though these books may contain invaluable writing advice and tools. It is just refreshing to have Bell's attitude. He motivates me to write and be true to myself, especially in his introduction. So far it is one of the books I keep going back and rereading parts that are pertinent to what I am writing.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2006