If writing by the traditional 3-act story structure causes you to lose steam after the end of the first act, 4-act story structure may be the answer.

How to prepare to write a story. A few decisions you have to make before starting your novel

A plot structure might be the key to finishing your novel! Here'a a printable cheatsheet to the 7-Point Structure, Save the Cat, The Writer's Journey, The One Page Novel...

Taking the time to write a novel outline helps you to work smarter and faster. Learn how to structure your story with an outline the easy way.

Act 2 is where you're finally free to explore all places your story will go—at least to some extent. You see, even Act 2 needs a bit of structure.

Structuring your story can frighten some writers and confuse others, but it doesn't have to be so - here is a simple way to look at story structure.

6 story structures, complete with story structure charts to help you create an original plot and outline your next novel.

These methods of outlining will help you create a novel outline that makes writing your first draft a breeze, whether it's your 1st or 10th time writing a book.

Get all of my best book outline tips! If you want to become a better writer, writing a great novel outline is the first step to writing great stories. Your story plan will help you with your character goals and plot development, and all the steps to writing will get easier with a story structure outline. Save this pin on your best novel outline tips board and follow Protagonist Crafts for more book writing basics.

Lots of authors use index cards to map their plot, create scenes and work out structure or scene placement. Last week I used a similar exercise to track my novel’s progress using index cards, preparatory to restructuring the manuscript. First: I wrote up every scene/story break in my novel. I was gobsmacked to find there…

Need help outlining your novel? The Save the Cat! beat sheet subdivides the beginning, middle, and end of a story into 15 beats or plot points...

So you’ve brainstormed ideas for the three plot points in the first act of your story, and you’re now wondering how to transition between act one and act two. How do you take your character into the core conflict of the story? The easiest way to do this is to set up a point of no return scene in your story. In this episode, I’ll discuss the point of no return scene and its position in the story. I’ll also share two important tips you need to consider as you write point of no return scene.

Learn how to create a compelling story using three act structure. Includes examples of movies that use this format, such as The Hunger Games and Rocky.

Powerful stories use their climax moments, and the choices their character makes, to prove their story point—so you can plot this moment backward! In this blog, we walk you through how to use your story’s point to develop the climax of your story.

Planning your book doesn't have to be complicated,so in this post I show you how to outline a novel in just four simple steps.

How to Plot a Story: Understanding Plotting and Climax. Plotting a story can be tricky, but it's the difference between a poorly and a well developed story.

Just for fun, here is what The Story Grid info-graphic looks like for Thomas Harris’s novel The Silence of the Lambs.   Don’t panic. It’s not nearly as

Today, I'm going to be taking the first in a three-part stab at answering one of the most frequently asked questions from my inbox: how do ...