Write Great Fiction Plot & Structure Techniques & Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

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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.