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A Novel Idea: Story Structure Tips For the Break-Out Novelist
Plotting Simplified
We remember characters; we pitch plot. In Plotting Simplified you'll learn how to map your story using the "passage markers" that shape every story's journey. From introduction and motivation to your Lead's moment of maximum angst, you'll see how easy it is to develop a story line and keep your characters on the path to a compelling climax. Learn how to introduce the Great Disturbance, what 4 Questions you should ask of your plot, how to map-out your story, manage your key scenes, the 7 Keys to every good plot, whyWorry, Conflict and Disaster spells success for the writer, and how to introduce your Major Dramatic Question.
Been There, "Scene" That!
Making a scene is as easy as: ABCD. A good scene reveals information that moves the story forward (new goals, old secrets, hidden motives), shows conflict between characters (adds tension), deepens the character's development, and creates suspense (introduces a new wrinkle that leaves the reader hanging). Learn the three keys to scene summary, how to create memorable moments in your story, what 4 questions you should ask of each scene. Learn professional secrets and begin crafting great scenes in just five minutes.
Dramatic Dialogue
Dialogue can breathe life into any fiction or non-fiction story. In this class we cover: Scene & space - A scene is: Doing (Action) Thinking (Narrative) and Talking (Dialogue). Tools- A writer has a number of tools for story building: narration, action, description, and dialogue Stickiness - How dialogue sticks with us Tags - When to tag, when to skip tags & where to place tags Types - Direct, Reflective, Misdirected, Modulated, Descriptive, Breathless, & Compressed Tips - When to circle back, go silent, & add gestures Punctuation - Where to put those marks and quotes.
Creating Compelling Characters
Compelling characters are larger than life. They risk more, laugh often and love with passion. In this session you'll learn how to invent both likable and loathsome characters, winners and losers, heroes and villains. In this class you'll learn how to build motivation, focus flaws, and and explore the feelings or your characters. You'll see how conflict, crisis and consequences shape your characters. We'll show you how to find the right character for your story, motivate your hero and heroin, and how the "off-beat sidekick" can provide comic relief for your story.
We remember characters; we pitch plot. In Plotting Simplified you'll learn how to map your story using the "passage markers" that shape every story's journey. From introduction and motivation to your Lead's moment of maximum angst, you'll see how easy it is to develop a story line and keep your characters on the path to a compelling climax. Learn how to introduce the Great Disturbance, what 4 Questions you should ask of your plot, how to map-out your story, manage your key scenes, the 7 Keys to every good plot, whyWorry, Conflict and Disaster spells success for the writer, and how to introduce your Major Dramatic Question.
Been There, "Scene" That!
Making a scene is as easy as: ABCD. A good scene reveals information that moves the story forward (new goals, old secrets, hidden motives), shows conflict between characters (adds tension), deepens the character's development, and creates suspense (introduces a new wrinkle that leaves the reader hanging). Learn the three keys to scene summary, how to create memorable moments in your story, what 4 questions you should ask of each scene. Learn professional secrets and begin crafting great scenes in just five minutes.
Dramatic Dialogue
Dialogue can breathe life into any fiction or non-fiction story. In this class we cover: Scene & space - A scene is: Doing (Action) Thinking (Narrative) and Talking (Dialogue). Tools- A writer has a number of tools for story building: narration, action, description, and dialogue Stickiness - How dialogue sticks with us Tags - When to tag, when to skip tags & where to place tags Types - Direct, Reflective, Misdirected, Modulated, Descriptive, Breathless, & Compressed Tips - When to circle back, go silent, & add gestures Punctuation - Where to put those marks and quotes.
Creating Compelling Characters
Compelling characters are larger than life. They risk more, laugh often and love with passion. In this session you'll learn how to invent both likable and loathsome characters, winners and losers, heroes and villains. In this class you'll learn how to build motivation, focus flaws, and and explore the feelings or your characters. You'll see how conflict, crisis and consequences shape your characters. We'll show you how to find the right character for your story, motivate your hero and heroin, and how the "off-beat sidekick" can provide comic relief for your story.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2013
38 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Eddie Jones
37 books119 followersEddie is an award-winning author of middle-grade fiction with HarperCollins. Father of two boys, he's also a pirate at heart who loves to surf.
Eddie's middle grade series are wholesome reading with a flair for unexpected adventure. The Caden Chronicles series has a spooky but spiritual message based on real "monsters" in the Bible. The sixth book in the series, "Rumor of a Werewolf", released in June 2019 and is a finalist for the Selah awards in Middle Grade fiction.
"The Caribbean Chronicles" is a time-travel pirate adventure series based on a boy who suffers from absence seizures. The third book, "The End of Calico Jack", released September 2019 and is a finalist for the Selah award in Young Adult fiction. All of Eddie's pirate and "monster" mystery books are award-winners.
An avid sailor with a great sense of humor, Eddie has been married to a girl he met at a stoplight in West Palm Beach during spring break many, many years ago.
Awards for Middle Grade and YA novels
* Winner of the Selah award for tween / teen mysteries
* INSPY Award
* Moonbeam Children's Book Award
Readers Are Leaders - Buy a Boy a Book!
WritersCoach.us
Eddiejones.org
eddie@eddiejones.org
Twitter.com/EddieJonesTweet
Facebook.com/EddieJonesHumor
Instagram.com/authoreddiejones
Eddie's middle grade series are wholesome reading with a flair for unexpected adventure. The Caden Chronicles series has a spooky but spiritual message based on real "monsters" in the Bible. The sixth book in the series, "Rumor of a Werewolf", released in June 2019 and is a finalist for the Selah awards in Middle Grade fiction.
"The Caribbean Chronicles" is a time-travel pirate adventure series based on a boy who suffers from absence seizures. The third book, "The End of Calico Jack", released September 2019 and is a finalist for the Selah award in Young Adult fiction. All of Eddie's pirate and "monster" mystery books are award-winners.
An avid sailor with a great sense of humor, Eddie has been married to a girl he met at a stoplight in West Palm Beach during spring break many, many years ago.
Awards for Middle Grade and YA novels
* Winner of the Selah award for tween / teen mysteries
* INSPY Award
* Moonbeam Children's Book Award
Readers Are Leaders - Buy a Boy a Book!
WritersCoach.us
Eddiejones.org
eddie@eddiejones.org
Twitter.com/EddieJonesTweet
Facebook.com/EddieJonesHumor
Instagram.com/authoreddiejones
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 15, 2013
This innocuous $1 book will likely prove more valuable to me than 3 years of University education in Creative Writing.
The key to this guide is all in the title: "Story Structure Tips". It's not attempting to be an all encompassing bible. There are no grand revelations here; just succinct and well structured practical advice. If only my lecturers had actually covered this stuff instead of sucking the will to live out of me droning on about something naff. This guide won't be for everyone - for those that are well across this basic information, I live in envy!
I maintain aspirations of writing and have several notebooks filled with scrawled ideas and sticky-notes of scene descriptions. I tried to do the good thing and sit down each day to write for a set period no matter what. Yet every day, my writing one day had nothing to do with my writing the day before. The vague scribbles and daydreams that so excited me never coalesced into something more substantial. In those moments when the creativity wasn't flowing, I really needed to take the kind of considered logical approach covered in this guide to help trigger the next wave of on-topic creativity to push those ideas forward.
I thoroughly recommend any aspiring writer, particularly if you find yourself struggling like me to put something substantial together, to grab a copy. I can see it being a handy go to reference for me in the future.
Some may consider this guide too simplistic and cookie cutter. Don't fret. Learn the rules first, then break them.
Good writing to you all.
The key to this guide is all in the title: "Story Structure Tips". It's not attempting to be an all encompassing bible. There are no grand revelations here; just succinct and well structured practical advice. If only my lecturers had actually covered this stuff instead of sucking the will to live out of me droning on about something naff. This guide won't be for everyone - for those that are well across this basic information, I live in envy!
I maintain aspirations of writing and have several notebooks filled with scrawled ideas and sticky-notes of scene descriptions. I tried to do the good thing and sit down each day to write for a set period no matter what. Yet every day, my writing one day had nothing to do with my writing the day before. The vague scribbles and daydreams that so excited me never coalesced into something more substantial. In those moments when the creativity wasn't flowing, I really needed to take the kind of considered logical approach covered in this guide to help trigger the next wave of on-topic creativity to push those ideas forward.
I thoroughly recommend any aspiring writer, particularly if you find yourself struggling like me to put something substantial together, to grab a copy. I can see it being a handy go to reference for me in the future.
Some may consider this guide too simplistic and cookie cutter. Don't fret. Learn the rules first, then break them.
Good writing to you all.
December 20, 2019
Apostila de um curso presencial, pelo que pude entender. É um super resumo de trama, estrutura, personagens e cenas.
July 7, 2018
First off, this book is labeled incorrectly. There is nothing in here that states how to take the steps and divide it among 60 minutes. There is no clock of events. This book does not teach you how to write a novel in under 60 minutes at all.
What is does is explain the parts of the story, which we all (usually) know.
It continuously quotes author Steven James at every interval of explanation.
It references Save the Cat multiple times.
But it absolutely does not guide you to even outlining a novel in 60 minutes (which is more what I thought it would do.)
I think what they meant was that you can read the book in under an hour, and that it has all of the tools to write a novel. It does not.
This brings out the same-old that has been in hundreds of books before.
There is nothing new here, so do not waste your time.
What is does is explain the parts of the story, which we all (usually) know.
It continuously quotes author Steven James at every interval of explanation.
It references Save the Cat multiple times.
But it absolutely does not guide you to even outlining a novel in 60 minutes (which is more what I thought it would do.)
I think what they meant was that you can read the book in under an hour, and that it has all of the tools to write a novel. It does not.
This brings out the same-old that has been in hundreds of books before.
There is nothing new here, so do not waste your time.
February 27, 2018
4 Stars!
First, I really don't know if this book is pretty small. So when I found out this book is less than 200 pages, I were pretty worried if this book not going to give me all information about what I needed. But I'm glad that I'm totally wrong.
This book was so packed! You can get all essential information about writing your first novel in here. Pretty Recommended!!
First, I really don't know if this book is pretty small. So when I found out this book is less than 200 pages, I were pretty worried if this book not going to give me all information about what I needed. But I'm glad that I'm totally wrong.
This book was so packed! You can get all essential information about writing your first novel in here. Pretty Recommended!!
August 8, 2017
good summary book on writing a novel. promise was true, you can read in an hour. great ideas to think or work on.
April 20, 2018
I liked the way the author succinctly and efficiently illustrated the keys to successful story building. It's important as an author to read how-to books like this one frequently.
August 9, 2018
This book provides the nitty gritty for writing a novel. It’s quick and easy to read with no fluff, just the details brilliantly laid out for the reader. An enjoyable read for writers!
October 5, 2013
To kick off your novel, A Novel Idea, by Eddie Jones, is a terrific way to do it. An inexpensive e-book, A Novel Idea was put together from material Jones teaches at conferences at the request of his students. Now everyone can benefit. While not an exhaustive treatise on all aspects of the craft, A Novel Idea packs a punch by hitting all the highlights of plotting, conflict, dialogue, character development, and scene structure. Novel Rocket and I give it our highest recommendation. It's a must have in every writer's library.
June 6, 2014
Good thoughts, a quick read
This book contains some very good ideas and tips for plot and character creation. Most of those ideas I have read in several other books. However, what I liked the most was the sections and scene development. I think Eddie did a great job.
This book contains some very good ideas and tips for plot and character creation. Most of those ideas I have read in several other books. However, what I liked the most was the sections and scene development. I think Eddie did a great job.
August 14, 2016
A Wonderful Read And Incredible Value
A concise starting point for the aspiring author. The book's focus on cozy mysteries and romantic-comedies is most useful in establishing story structure.
A concise starting point for the aspiring author. The book's focus on cozy mysteries and romantic-comedies is most useful in establishing story structure.
October 25, 2014
A quick, easy read with some great tips!
March 27, 2015
Great tool for writers.
As always Eddie Jones gives practical advice for writers. This book will help aspiring as well as established writers. Great resource.
As always Eddie Jones gives practical advice for writers. This book will help aspiring as well as established writers. Great resource.
July 10, 2015
A Novel Idea has helped me stay focused on what matters most in a manuscript. I'll be rereading it from time to time so I don't lose my way.
March 25, 2014
Read like a cheat sheet.
April 19, 2017
Great information in a tight little package!
Over the course of my life I have read countless books. Yet writing my first novel posed challenges having to do with the basic structure of the work, things I had never considered in depth, things such as plot, scene, character development, internal and external conflict, character predisposition and motivation, building tension, etc. This little book does a marvelous job presenting the gut works of a novel. It's a great field guide for first-time novelists.
Over the course of my life I have read countless books. Yet writing my first novel posed challenges having to do with the basic structure of the work, things I had never considered in depth, things such as plot, scene, character development, internal and external conflict, character predisposition and motivation, building tension, etc. This little book does a marvelous job presenting the gut works of a novel. It's a great field guide for first-time novelists.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews