Structuring Your Novel Workbook: Hands-On Help for Building Strong and Successful Stories (Helping Writers Become Authors)

5 Secrets of Story Structure: How to Write a Novel That Stands Out(Helping Writers Become Authors Book 6) Kindle Editionby K. M. Weiland.Reviewed by C J Singh (Berkeley, California).In the opening chapter, Weiland presents a 5-minute summary of her book “Structuring Your Novel” and the companion “Workbook.” A thoughtful refresher on the Inciting Incident, the three plot points and the two pinch points, cited from Syd Fields' pioneering Screenplay book.The second chapter begins with the author's candid acknowledgement that this supplement clarifies the crucial concept of the Inciting Incident, which she now recognizes was explained rather vaguely: “What is important isn’t so much nailing down your Inciting Event to a specific place in the story, as it is presenting the Inciting Event at the optimal moment. Sometimes that means throwing the Inciting Event at readers right away, and sometimes that means holding off a bit.” Yes, that was vague. And the clarification in this supplement: “The most important thing that you can take away form this chapter is this: There isn’t just one moment that can be called ‘the inciting event.’ There are three.”Weiland suggests that Inciting Events comprise the Hook -- "the opening scene, possibly even the first line"; the Turning Point --12% mark of the book – "the match is officially lit and held over the tinder of the conflict”; and the First Plot Point -- 25% mark. However, Weiland then chooses to discard the term the Turning Point and calls it the Inciting Event, presumably because all of the points—the plot as well as pinch points are also turning points.The third chapter explains the Key Event and the First Plot Point as not the same but as “two distinct and important sides of the same coin.” She examples this by apt citations from Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and other stories.The fourth chapter explains the two Pinch Points: “To use your Pinch Points to their maximum potential, you need to make certain that they create distinct moments that influence every scene leading up to their subsequent Plot Points.” Weiland examples them by citations from Henry James’s classic novella “The Turn of the Screw” and other stories.The fifth chapter explains the Midpoint: “After the reactive period in the First Half of the Second Act, the Midpoint happens and along with it the Moment of Truth. This is where everything changes for the protagonist… provides him with a new understanding of the conflict… suddenly he gets it.” Reactive no more, he starts acting.The sixth chapter explains building up from the Third Plot Point (‘the darkest moment for your character’) to the Climactic Moment and Resolution. Weiland examples this by citing from Victor Hugo’s classic, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” and other stories.This 60-page e-book will definitely help me in drafting my work-in-progress.Five shining stars.--------------------------STRUCTURING YOUR NOVELBy K. M. WeilandReviewed by C J SinghSTRUCTURING YOUR NOVEL hooked me from the beginning: On page 2, K. M. Weiland writes, “Some experts’ approach to structure is mesmerizingly complex. John Truby’s must-read ‘The Anatomy of Story” presents twenty-two elements of story structure. Syd Field’s canonical ‘Screenplay’ (which is just as valuable for novelists as for screenwriters) breaks story down to the simpler three-act structure....The macro level of story structure I’ll be presenting in the following pages is a happy medium of the two.”John Truby’s THE ANATOMY OF STORY is indeed a “must-read book.” (I posted my detailed review on amazon in 2007 and rank it as a contemporary classic.) Equally impressive is Syd Field’s “SCREENPLAY: The Foundations of Screenwriting” the pioneering book on the subject. (I posted my review on amazon, also, in 2007.) Recently, I have taught workshops using both books as texts. Truby's emphasis on creating characters with weaknesses, both psychological and moral, makes his book innovative and sophisticated.Completing the exercises in SRUCTURING YOUR NOVEL WORKBOOK for my short stories. Particularly useful are the exercises on Structuring Scenes and Sequels. I am happy to say Weiland fully delivered the promise. Currently, I am using the WORKBOOK for structuring a 60,000- word Novel/Screenplay "Five Rivers."A five-star book.

Just a few brief points, since so many others have already discussed the countless wonderful aspects of this workbook. First of all, you will never find a more writer-friendly book. I'm a linear-type person who likes to follow a "plan." For me, this workbook (plus the book) is ideal. You progress through the workbook, it's satisfying and productive (and exciting.) The greatest thing about it is that it FORCES you to think deeply about every aspect of your story. Katie will not allow you to just give flippant responses; you have to really, really think; to dig deep, and truly understand and justify every detail of your story, and how it all ties in with your characters' motivations. She does this by asking loads of follow-up questions, that hit the same points from slightly different angles. She will not let you off the hook! You MUST think about, plan, and justify everything about your plot. By going through this process, you will find your story becoming richer, more cohesive, more compelling. I leave every session w/the workbook feeling jazzed about my progress w/the story.As others advise, I would also buy the book. What I did is read a section of the book at a time, then complete the matching workbook section. Keeps you totally focused on the plot point you're working on at the time.I cannot imagine ever writing a novel again without going through this process. Thank you Katie Weiland!

And now I wish I had gotten the paperback of the Structuring Your Novel book. It takes work to go from the book to the Workbook. Thankfully, the workbook contains good information, making it more straightforward to use. I am glad I got this workbook.

This workbook gives you a lot of great questions to chew on and is formatted pretty logically (wish the little infographics weren't just pasted in there; they look...compressed in a not so great way), but I did find it a little frustrating that it referenced quite a few movies when it's titled Structuring Your NOVEL. There are also a few typos (one really early into the workbook on page 18). Still, I think it's a very useful resource.

Shows how to build your story.

I got the book and this workbook in the summer of 2015 to help me prep the writing of my second novel in time for Nanowrimo. It was during the reading of the book that I realized that my first novel, Chrysalis, was unsound and would need to be restructured.In December of 2015 I decided to go back to revising Chrysalis. I have been dutifully working on it the last three months, not by re-writing any words, but by going through the workbook, thinking through the questions, exploring different possibilities, rearranging the scenes so that they fall into the right plot and pinch points.The questions helped me understand my novel in a much deeper level and gave me the permission to take the time to slow down and think through characterization, foreshadowing, theme, plot, everything! Even though nothing has been altered in the manuscript, the story is much stronger and much deeper thanks to going through the workbook.Whether you want to prep or evaluate your novel, this book is an excellent option. In addition to reading this, I would suggest that you read through her Character Arc series on her blog. I found those to be incredibly helpful and go to a deeper level of structuring your work.