Steal This Plot: A Writer's Guide to Story Structure and Plagiarism

by William Noble

This book is not about cemeteries. Nor is it a mystery-suspense story. It is about writing-the craft of writing and telling a tale. It is about how to use other people's stories, and what we are allowed to do with them. The plot of any story is the key. The plot is the story within the story that propels the action and develops the tale. In Hamlet, for instance, the story deals with who will be the rightful king of Denmark, but the plot is concerned with revenge and ambition. The plot is the nucleus of the action, and it is here that the writer must look to form his efforts. In Part One, the authors deal in depth with the structuring and "spicing" of the story. In Part Two, using classic and modern examples they outline 13 common plot Vengeance Catastrophe Love and Hate The Chase Grief and Loss Rebellion Betrayal Persecution Self-Sacrifice Survival Rivalry Discovery (Quest) Ambition showing you how weave it all together in a tapestry of words rich and satisfying to the reader. Worried you'll go too far in your plot thievery? A thorough look at plagiarism and copyright is also included.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2011

Reviews

[Becky Skillin]

Freedom and guidelines for writers. And, oh, so funny.

[Mara]

I wanted more out of this book. It was mostly just summaries of other books. I think there could have been some interesting tips but it’s just filler. It does not help you to steal a plot as the title implies.

[Jc]

A fountain of information with great examples of how to deal with the issues of plot and plot development. Well worth the time to read if you are really interested in writing.

[Naiá Lusvarghi]

Esperava muito mais dicas práticas de como "roubar" a trama. Não conseguiu atingir minhas espectativas.

[Seawood]

A good summary of major plots and story ingredients. Quite a lot of examples which got rather overdone towards the end, not one to be read in one sitting.

[Katie]

disappointing. not about how to change plots. it is simply one after another summaries of multiple books to illustrate the basic plots and motivators

[Karla]

Awesome overview of plot and premise and how to use the basics to brainstorm for your own stories. Great book.