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Nail Your Story: Add Tension, Build Emotion, and Keep Your Readers Addicted
What makes a story feel connective, engaging, and complete?
If you've read dozens of storytelling craft books and still don't have a strong answer to that question, you'll love how Nail Your Story doesn't give you another laundry list of items that your story is supposed to have.
Instead, Nail Your Story attempts to reveal the connections between the various parts of story so that you can more easily build cohesive plots, characters, themes, and settings—without having to stress over the decisions because (surprise!) you’ve probably already made them in another area of your book.
Included in the book:
- Monica's Smarter Storytelling Framework, which shows you the many layers of a story and how they each relate to each other
- Translation guides for building out your story (for example, how you can use character to build your theme, and vice-versa)
- The Smarter Storytelling Worksheets to help you plot out all the elements of your story into one cohesive document
- Tons of examples from some of the most popular stories of our time, including Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, the Twilight series, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, How To Get Away With Murder, A Song of Ice and Fire, and more.
If you’ve struggled to get 5-star reviews on your stories or build an audience of people dying to get your next book, Nail Your Story will help you identify areas of improvement and even show you how a few small tweaks in your currently available content can make a massive difference in your sales!
If you've read dozens of storytelling craft books and still don't have a strong answer to that question, you'll love how Nail Your Story doesn't give you another laundry list of items that your story is supposed to have.
Instead, Nail Your Story attempts to reveal the connections between the various parts of story so that you can more easily build cohesive plots, characters, themes, and settings—without having to stress over the decisions because (surprise!) you’ve probably already made them in another area of your book.
Included in the book:
- Monica's Smarter Storytelling Framework, which shows you the many layers of a story and how they each relate to each other
- Translation guides for building out your story (for example, how you can use character to build your theme, and vice-versa)
- The Smarter Storytelling Worksheets to help you plot out all the elements of your story into one cohesive document
- Tons of examples from some of the most popular stories of our time, including Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, the Twilight series, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, How To Get Away With Murder, A Song of Ice and Fire, and more.
If you’ve struggled to get 5-star reviews on your stories or build an audience of people dying to get your next book, Nail Your Story will help you identify areas of improvement and even show you how a few small tweaks in your currently available content can make a massive difference in your sales!
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
36 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 1, 2015
I've read a lot of books on story structure, and after a while they start to run together - three act structure, characters, theme, etc. But what I like about this guide by Monica Leonelle is the way she shows the relationships between these various elements. And where many guides espouse a linear method - do A, then B, then C - Monica encourages authors to work back and forth between these components, building on what you know in one element to help you flesh out another. She also includes many helpful examples from literature and television to help bring the lessons to life. I feel like this is the kind of book I'll want to revisit time and again, and that I will get something different out of it each time.
March 25, 2017
Here are my thoughts on various chapters/passages:
Chapter 3: Idea vs. concept vs. premise. I can't tell whether it's to help us create those things, or to pinpoint them in a story we already have. Either way, if you don't have a premise, then what is the story you're writing?
Chapters 4, 6, & 10: 2 chapters about theme, plus another on thematic elements. It kind of makes sense that honing your theme can sharpen the emotional impact of your book, but she's pretty long winded about theme.
"That's why every young adult novel has the love triangle." Um, really? You're going to claim every YA novel has a love triangle? I know plenty that don't. I know several that don't even have a love interest.
The parts on character arcs are repetitive. She lists several fatal flaws from a particular book/movie. Then she repeats them (word-for-word) and adds on the motivations. Then she repeats all that (word-for-word) and adds on false beliefs. While this does help you remember the examples, I was listening to the audiobook version and couldn't skim over the repetitions.
Chapter 3: Idea vs. concept vs. premise. I can't tell whether it's to help us create those things, or to pinpoint them in a story we already have. Either way, if you don't have a premise, then what is the story you're writing?
Chapters 4, 6, & 10: 2 chapters about theme, plus another on thematic elements. It kind of makes sense that honing your theme can sharpen the emotional impact of your book, but she's pretty long winded about theme.
"That's why every young adult novel has the love triangle." Um, really? You're going to claim every YA novel has a love triangle? I know plenty that don't. I know several that don't even have a love interest.
The parts on character arcs are repetitive. She lists several fatal flaws from a particular book/movie. Then she repeats them (word-for-word) and adds on the motivations. Then she repeats all that (word-for-word) and adds on false beliefs. While this does help you remember the examples, I was listening to the audiobook version and couldn't skim over the repetitions.
August 14, 2016
Pretty frustrating.
I think the author's goal is pretty unrealistic. I'm a firm believer that art is the motivator for the writer, not writing best sellers. The fact is that most writers are not financially successful. It is my belief that if you want to write an uninteresting book, you should probably strive to make it popular, because it will be bland instead of innovative, exciting, and unexpected.
The other quibble I have with the author's examples is her use of movies instead of books for source material. How in the world can you use Gone Girl or The Martian as examples when it isn't clear that you've read them? I mean... give me a break! The *ART* of Gone Girl was in its use of the unreliable narrator. The Martian as a book was vastly superior to the movie.
So, I dock points for that.
Still, I appreciate the effort. As a writer who looks for insight everywhere, I am sure at some point I'll find something important here, but the idea that you can program a book to be successful is almost disheartening.
Sorry.
I think the author's goal is pretty unrealistic. I'm a firm believer that art is the motivator for the writer, not writing best sellers. The fact is that most writers are not financially successful. It is my belief that if you want to write an uninteresting book, you should probably strive to make it popular, because it will be bland instead of innovative, exciting, and unexpected.
The other quibble I have with the author's examples is her use of movies instead of books for source material. How in the world can you use Gone Girl or The Martian as examples when it isn't clear that you've read them? I mean... give me a break! The *ART* of Gone Girl was in its use of the unreliable narrator. The Martian as a book was vastly superior to the movie.
So, I dock points for that.
Still, I appreciate the effort. As a writer who looks for insight everywhere, I am sure at some point I'll find something important here, but the idea that you can program a book to be successful is almost disheartening.
Sorry.
February 20, 2016
This book came at a great time for me as a writer. I've been spinning my wheels trying to take the next step in my craft. I've studied a ton of writing books this year, and all of them have left me feeling a little discouraged and overwhelmed.
Monica Leonelle finally made something click in my brain. I will be going back through this book several times in the upccoming weeks and really using it to get ready for NaNoWriMo.
I received a free review copy of this book.
Monica Leonelle finally made something click in my brain. I will be going back through this book several times in the upccoming weeks and really using it to get ready for NaNoWriMo.
I received a free review copy of this book.
May 25, 2017
Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book for an honest review, and I am so glad that I read it! It far exceeded my expectations and provided me exactly what I was hoping for!
It's easy to be creative, but it's more difficult to design a story with structure and key elements that will resonate with readers. How many of us have come up with a great idea, only to have it fizzle out because we didn't know how to develop it into something good?
Thankfully, Monica Leonelle's book, Nail Your Story, is here to help.
One of her key points is how writers need to create unique experiences for their readers. There are many things competing with a readers' attention these days, so we have to reward them by creating stories that will satisfy in every way. Structure in a story is too important to neglect. I realize some people will find her Smarter Storytelling Framework to be overwhelming, but if they're able to stick with it and genuinely try to understand the components, they will come out with stronger stories as a result. I recently read Susan May Warren's book “The Story Equation,” which touches on the same aspects of storytelling and is an excellent complement to this book. I highly recommend them both!
One of the book's strongest points is also one of my few complaints, and that is her use of examples to make a point. On the one hand, she uses excellent examples from contemporary novels, movies and TV shows, which makes it much easier to understand. Yet she also uses examples from her own works and upcoming works in progress, which at times seemed rather self-serving. (But it's also easy to reference and a brilliant marketing technique, so I get it…)
Bottom line? If you think you have a great idea for a novel but don't know what to do next, buy this book! You will not regret it, and your future readers will thank you for it!
It's easy to be creative, but it's more difficult to design a story with structure and key elements that will resonate with readers. How many of us have come up with a great idea, only to have it fizzle out because we didn't know how to develop it into something good?
Thankfully, Monica Leonelle's book, Nail Your Story, is here to help.
One of her key points is how writers need to create unique experiences for their readers. There are many things competing with a readers' attention these days, so we have to reward them by creating stories that will satisfy in every way. Structure in a story is too important to neglect. I realize some people will find her Smarter Storytelling Framework to be overwhelming, but if they're able to stick with it and genuinely try to understand the components, they will come out with stronger stories as a result. I recently read Susan May Warren's book “The Story Equation,” which touches on the same aspects of storytelling and is an excellent complement to this book. I highly recommend them both!
One of the book's strongest points is also one of my few complaints, and that is her use of examples to make a point. On the one hand, she uses excellent examples from contemporary novels, movies and TV shows, which makes it much easier to understand. Yet she also uses examples from her own works and upcoming works in progress, which at times seemed rather self-serving. (But it's also easy to reference and a brilliant marketing technique, so I get it…)
Bottom line? If you think you have a great idea for a novel but don't know what to do next, buy this book! You will not regret it, and your future readers will thank you for it!
January 28, 2018
Fascinating and very helpful!
Really wonderful exploration of how to build a story. I’m excited to use this with my in-progress work. I especially liked the focus on alignment and consistency within a story, and found the examples very helpful. This is my second book from Monica on writing, and it won’t be my last. Her guidance is clear, straightforward and insightful. Much appreciated!
Really wonderful exploration of how to build a story. I’m excited to use this with my in-progress work. I especially liked the focus on alignment and consistency within a story, and found the examples very helpful. This is my second book from Monica on writing, and it won’t be my last. Her guidance is clear, straightforward and insightful. Much appreciated!
January 24, 2019
Finished my first read-through of this, but pretty sure I'm going to want to return to it over the next while to better put the principles into practice. May up my star rating then.
March 8, 2017
I read this book over several months. Filled with a lot of information, I wanted to learn. So I read a section and applied the teaching to my work in progress.
As the title suggests, tension added to my writing. I have more writing tools now that I've completed the book.
As the title suggests, tension added to my writing. I have more writing tools now that I've completed the book.
October 4, 2016
I recently joined a story course run by Monica. I’ve read a couple of her other works, and watched a lot of her videos. She’s helped me in the past, and the course seemed like a neat idea.
If you’re interested, it’s here:
https://proseonfire.com/
The homework pre-starting, is to make sure we are familiar with her writing methods, and I still had this volume left to read in a previous bundle I had picked up somewhere, so I shoved it up the TBR pile.
I know she has a couple of pen names (that I haven’t worked out yet) and she’s making a living as a writer. That’s my dream. Or at least to cover the costs of self publishing and keep me busy and out of trouble. Uh huh.
My pdf copy of this book has 240 pages when the ebook is listed as 169. Pagination… it’s a mystery.
She uses strategies and ideas from a lot of other writing books and cobbles together a method of her own; kind of like writing, eh?
Larry Brooks, James Scott Bell, Jill Williamson, and Shawn Coyne to name a few. She confesses that she has read 70 books on writing. Yeah, I hear you. My kindle non fiction writing category has 80 titles in it. In my defense, I haven’t read them all yet. And obviously that doesn’t include pdf’s like this one. *face palms*
She breaks it down into five steps:
Step #1 - Read the framework all the way through for understanding
Step #2 - Fill in the worksheets for the parts you have
Step #3 - Work your way down, up, or out
Step #4 - As you learn more about your story, go back and adjust
Step #5 - Create your system by tweaking this one
Monica uses a four part structure and five tentpoles to divide them. (That’s basically the three act with a double length second act.)
She gives lots of examples from recent books, TV shows, and movies as well as from her own works. I know GR didn’t like her ‘Emma and Elsie’ series but she knows that, too and she’s trying to fix it.
One of my pet peeves is seeing someone write a book (or several) on how to write when they have NEVER published anything in fiction. Monica has published, and more comfortingly, she’s failed. That makes me feel like she knows… she really knows.
I like reading about writing. I think I learn something from every writing book I read. And it distracts me from completing my own manuscript… doh.
But this one is a useful addition to the category.
I’ll let you know how the course goes.
4 stars
If you’re interested, it’s here:
https://proseonfire.com/
The homework pre-starting, is to make sure we are familiar with her writing methods, and I still had this volume left to read in a previous bundle I had picked up somewhere, so I shoved it up the TBR pile.
I know she has a couple of pen names (that I haven’t worked out yet) and she’s making a living as a writer. That’s my dream. Or at least to cover the costs of self publishing and keep me busy and out of trouble. Uh huh.
My pdf copy of this book has 240 pages when the ebook is listed as 169. Pagination… it’s a mystery.
Concept to Theme
Imagine a conversation that goes like this:
Person 1: "What is the story about?"
Person 2: "It's about a boy who discovers he has magic powers…"
Person 1: "No, what's it really about?"
Person 2: *Pauses.* "It's a classic tale of good and evil where love triumphs over fear."
A-ha! The first answer to this question is usually the concept or the premise. But the second answer is theme, the why behind the why, the true meaning of your story.
She uses strategies and ideas from a lot of other writing books and cobbles together a method of her own; kind of like writing, eh?
Larry Brooks, James Scott Bell, Jill Williamson, and Shawn Coyne to name a few. She confesses that she has read 70 books on writing. Yeah, I hear you. My kindle non fiction writing category has 80 titles in it. In my defense, I haven’t read them all yet. And obviously that doesn’t include pdf’s like this one. *face palms*
She breaks it down into five steps:
Step #1 - Read the framework all the way through for understanding
Step #2 - Fill in the worksheets for the parts you have
Step #3 - Work your way down, up, or out
Step #4 - As you learn more about your story, go back and adjust
Step #5 - Create your system by tweaking this one
Monica uses a four part structure and five tentpoles to divide them. (That’s basically the three act with a double length second act.)
She gives lots of examples from recent books, TV shows, and movies as well as from her own works. I know GR didn’t like her ‘Emma and Elsie’ series but she knows that, too and she’s trying to fix it.
One of my pet peeves is seeing someone write a book (or several) on how to write when they have NEVER published anything in fiction. Monica has published, and more comfortingly, she’s failed. That makes me feel like she knows… she really knows.
I like reading about writing. I think I learn something from every writing book I read. And it distracts me from completing my own manuscript… doh.
But this one is a useful addition to the category.
I’ll let you know how the course goes.
4 stars
February 14, 2017
Monica Leonelle's book, Nail Your Story, is a gem. If you're interested in what makes a story work, check out this book. It is somewhat on the order of a manual for writers. The author has developed what she calls a "Framework" for giving your story not only structure but depth. She details the "Framework" so that you, as a writer, can apply it or adapt it to suit your needs. One of the most helpful aspects of the "Framework" is the author's explanation of the relationship between a character's flaw and her/his motivation and the relationship between a character's false beliefs and her/his goals. Ms. Leonelle has also included some helpful resources for using the concepts in the book, most notably an online link to worksheets that may be used to apply the "Framework" technique. If you write fiction -- or want to learn how to do so -- this book will help you on your way.
September 24, 2016
One of the beauties of this book are the examples it gives. It is through examples of popular fiction that this book comes alive – The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, The Vampire Diaries, even films like The Martian and TV series like Arrow.
The book refers to story structure in 3 or 4 parts:
• The beginning or first incident.
• What the character decides to do in reaction to this incident?
• The reversal of fortune.
• All or nothing, cards on the table.
• The transformation or conclusion.
The author suggests such a structure can be part of a plan or intuitive. Personally I think seeing it spelt out in black white gives any new or budding author greater awareness of what they are creating even if they don’t follow the framework.
There is also a section on concept, premise, theme and genre.
• Concept is the hook of your story. It can usually be phrased as a “What if?” question.
• The premise points to a major conflict and usually starts with a specific, named character.
• The easiest way to go from concept and premise to theme is to ask, what does my main character represent?
• Genre represents the fictional category – romance, thriller, YA etc.
Character arcs are the most commonly talked about devices and relate to the progress of a character throughout the book. This can be from a child to an adult, or a more spiritual and enlightened path. The author also talks about groups of characters and how they act as a group. Their symbols and motifs, shared beliefs – such as the different houses in Harry Potter.
It is rare that I find a book which moves me so far forward in terms of my writing. Usually progress is incremental, someone pointing out a mistake which makes me more aware of what I am doing wrong.
The book refers to story structure in 3 or 4 parts:
• The beginning or first incident.
• What the character decides to do in reaction to this incident?
• The reversal of fortune.
• All or nothing, cards on the table.
• The transformation or conclusion.
The author suggests such a structure can be part of a plan or intuitive. Personally I think seeing it spelt out in black white gives any new or budding author greater awareness of what they are creating even if they don’t follow the framework.
There is also a section on concept, premise, theme and genre.
• Concept is the hook of your story. It can usually be phrased as a “What if?” question.
• The premise points to a major conflict and usually starts with a specific, named character.
• The easiest way to go from concept and premise to theme is to ask, what does my main character represent?
• Genre represents the fictional category – romance, thriller, YA etc.
Character arcs are the most commonly talked about devices and relate to the progress of a character throughout the book. This can be from a child to an adult, or a more spiritual and enlightened path. The author also talks about groups of characters and how they act as a group. Their symbols and motifs, shared beliefs – such as the different houses in Harry Potter.
It is rare that I find a book which moves me so far forward in terms of my writing. Usually progress is incremental, someone pointing out a mistake which makes me more aware of what I am doing wrong.
October 31, 2018
There are so many books on writing, and while they're helpful in their own respects, this one filled in a lot of the missing puzzle pieces for me. The author calls it deep alignment, which is basically pulling the theme through the entire makeup of the book to create resonance with the reader. The thing that helped me the most was talking about the relationship between theme and goals/motivations and the fatal flaw of the character. By digging deep in this area, it's easy to begin creating an outline, since you know what message you want to get across and how to chip away at the fatal flaw in the protagonist. Before this book, I always had what the author calls a "murky middle" - I knew where I wanted to begin and where I wanted to end, and I may even have that centerpiece moment, but tying the ends together still felt blank to me. This book took everything one step further to create a much clearer path. Paired with Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story and a post I recently read about Ring Composition (which I can't find now - argh! - but the theory is simple - mirror elements in ABCABC or ABCCBA format), and I've got a load of tools that can help me weave a plot worth writing. :)
April 19, 2016
Tons to learn here about story
I read this book halfway through the first time and had to set it aside because it honestly was a lot to swallow. Then I went back and reread it and wow. There's so much good stuff here to learn about story. I want to create deeply layered stories like my favorites, and if that's what you want, you should definitely pick this up. Can't wait to dive into the free worksheets and apply to my current works in progress!
I read this book halfway through the first time and had to set it aside because it honestly was a lot to swallow. Then I went back and reread it and wow. There's so much good stuff here to learn about story. I want to create deeply layered stories like my favorites, and if that's what you want, you should definitely pick this up. Can't wait to dive into the free worksheets and apply to my current works in progress!
February 8, 2016
An Unparalleled Deep Dive Into Story!
What I love about Monica is her willingness to not only share what's working for her, but her ability to create workable systems that are easily understood and can be implemented immediately. It kind of feels like she's further down the path (waaaay further) and is leaving story breadcrumbs for us to find our way, and I love that!
Nail Your Story is an invaluable resource that will be sitting proudly on the top shelf of my writer's toolbox.
What I love about Monica is her willingness to not only share what's working for her, but her ability to create workable systems that are easily understood and can be implemented immediately. It kind of feels like she's further down the path (waaaay further) and is leaving story breadcrumbs for us to find our way, and I love that!
Nail Your Story is an invaluable resource that will be sitting proudly on the top shelf of my writer's toolbox.
February 8, 2016
Will do a more thorough review later, but in case I forget, just wanted to say I loved the way Leonelle created a system for truly integrating plot with character. It's so much more organic, intuitive, and just plain EFFECTIVE than most outlining systems. I think both new and experienced writers would get a lot out of this book. My only wish is that there'd been more at the end about writing the specific moments (or beats) of the story, but there are other sources for that.
December 6, 2015
Nail Your Story provides a good framework for plotting your novel. What I really liked about the examples in the book is that they are mostly contemporary and not limited to literature: The Vampire Diaries, Harry Potter, Dexter, The Martian and so on all serve as examples of the 4-part structure.
The worksheets are very handy if you are going to apply the theory of this book.
The worksheets are very handy if you are going to apply the theory of this book.
Read
March 21, 2016This is one of the most helpful books about writing I've read. It gives a clear path to chart out your book and series before you write it. And she offers free worksheets to go along with it! It's awesome and I recommend it.
March 4, 2016
So incredibly helpful. I haven't been feeling great about the novel I've been writing. This book has really shown me why it wasn't working and a step by step process on how to fix it. I only wish I had read it sooner!
April 29, 2016
Great resource! Not many story structure/plotting books I pick up contain ideas or connections between ideas that I haven't seen elsewhere, but this book has a great perspective on the inner alignment of stories that was new to me. The worksheets are a great resource, too!
May 10, 2016
Some great insights on story structure
Monica does a great job of deconstructing popular stories like Harry Potter and The Fault In Our Stars to show their underlying structure. The worksheets are pretty awesome too.
Monica does a great job of deconstructing popular stories like Harry Potter and The Fault In Our Stars to show their underlying structure. The worksheets are pretty awesome too.
July 14, 2016
Possibly a little too pantsy for my tastes, but this book does encourage me to just sit down and write and not get myself lost in outlining and planning. Sometimes just marking a few guidelines is more useful than writing a novel of notes. :D
December 6, 2015
Nice templates, but a little complicated to use. If it works for the author, it must be good for some people, but unfortunately not for me.
December 18, 2015
Very solid, very comprehensible techniques for lining up character, theme, structure and story in developing pre-writing outlines. I expect this to be an invaluable resource.
March 5, 2016
A bit muddled
I enjoyed the beginning premise but most of the book felt like less meaty than I wanted, and went on too long.
I enjoyed the beginning premise but most of the book felt like less meaty than I wanted, and went on too long.
February 4, 2017
Will review upon re-read and implementation of this framework. (In the meantime, the fact that I'm planning to do so is a positive in itself!)
January 26, 2017
Very insightful. I will be using her framework for my next novel.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews