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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

how to plot a book

Plotting: The Ordinary World, Should Your Story Include it?

March 4, 2018 by Lori Devoti 4 Comments

If you are familiar with most of the common plot structures for fiction, both for novelists and screenwriters, you have heard the term Ordinary World. Even if you aren’t familiar with these plotting structures, the term kind of gives it away. The Ordinary World is the world in which your protagonist lives before the events … [Read more…]

Posted in: Plotting, Writing Craft Tagged: how to plot a book, ordinary world, plotting

The Venn Diagram Stage of Writing- Finding Theme

March 6, 2015 by Guest Post 1 Comment
Plotting organizing your writing

by Elisabeth Sharp McKetta I’ve long had good luck dividing writing into distinct stages and forcing them not to mingle: first there is the brainstorm stage (usually takes place on hikes or in the shower, but occasionally in the middle of the night when I wake to feed the baby). Second there is the compost … [Read more…]

Posted in: Plotting, Theme, Writing Craft Tagged: how to plot a book, planning writing, plotting, plotting method, Theme, venn diagram, writing books

Plot a Book with a Clothesline

June 27, 2011 by Lori Devoti 16 Comments
Clothesline your Plot

So you want to plot a book… Not every writer is a plotter; I realize that, but I’m also a strong believer that your writing will be more efficient if you have at least some idea where your story is going. So, if the idea of writing out a hundred scene cards or even following … [Read more…]

Posted in: Plotting Tagged: clothesline plot, how to plot a book, plotting

Featured Book

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler

The Writer’s Journey explores the relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style.

Want help plotting great stories that grab readers?

The Writer’s Journey is on our MUST read list.

Get at Amazon

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Featured Book

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler

The Writer’s Journey explores the relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style.

Want help plotting great stories that grab readers?

The Writer’s Journey is on our MUST read list.

Get at Amazon


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