Write Great Fiction--Plot & Structure

Fiction writers who struggle to build a plot that holds together get a practical guide to doing it. James Scott Bell aims at a plot that feels believable and keeps readers turning pages, and he treats structure as a skill that can be learned step by step.

The book is a how-to manual for craft. It covers how to shape strong beginnings, middles and endings, with plotting diagrams and charts that lay out each stage in plain terms. Examples from popular novels show the techniques at work.

Bell also supplies brainstorming methods for coming up with original plot ideas, along with plot brainstormers to work through on the page. A further section offers tips and tools for finding and correcting common plot problems in a draft.

It is one volume in the Write Great Fiction series from Writer's Digest Books, which also treats dialogue, characters, viewpoint, setting and description. The writing is clear and concise, built for writers who want usable methods more than theory. A writer can open it at the stage where a draft has stalled, whether that is the opening, the sagging middle or the ending.