Here’s my updated review of Larry’s new e-book, made after Larry very thoughtfully gave me a copy to review, following my question as to differences between his book and McKee’s Story:

First, Larry’s book is well worth the money – a great book on the subject of structure and an enjoyable read. Even if you already have a book or two on structure, this is worth getting. My only quibble is to say that this isn’t the only book on structure for novelists. But it IS the only book that’s still in print. If you can find it, The Basic Patterns of Plot by Foster-Harris is worth looking at as well, though it’s not nearly as modern or readable as Larry’s book. More on this shortly.

Second, compared to most other books on story structure, Larry’s book certainly IS more targeted to novel writing than screenplays. Although I think the average person can easily port a book on screenwriting over to novel writing on their own, it’s nice when the examples are from novels/best sellers. It turned out to be a nicer benefit than a guy like me would normally think.

Third, this is a very do-able book. In other words, it’s a relatively quick read and it doesn’t demand any head-scratching. Although I’ll be the first to defend the books that DO demand a committed, thoughtful reader, it’s also nice to have the material laid out in a “can’t miss it” style, because most of us do our skill development reading AFTER are regular workday, exactly when our mental muscles are already fatigued.

So all-in-all, I’d recommend it, guys. Even if you already own a book or two on story structure!

- Jeff

You bring up an interesting aspect of story planning. The first half of a story is almost always easier to plan than the second half. Even if someone just planned the first half and suddenly turned into a “panster” in the middle (I don’t recommend that, by the way), they’ll be way ahead of the game.

In fact… this is where planners, plotters and pantsers get on the same page. Even if the planning of your second half seems challenging, EVEN if you don’t really like what you’ve come up with… go ahead and begin writing from that plan for a whole story. The first half will be solid, and as you go you WILL discover your second half plan, either reinforcing your initial plan or realizing that a better idea has surfaced.

Which means, when that happens, you can go back to your story planning and revise. Here’s the best part: unlike pantsing from page 1, this approach will result in a plan that gets to keep the first half that you’ve so carefully plotted out — and perhaps even written — while a new idea for the second half will be a natural, even tested approach for an effective second half.

I’ve said it all along, and in response to pantsers who claim that story planning locks you in and stifles creativity — quite the contrary — story planning is the best way to develop great ideas, because when they come they are already in context to a solid whole. And believe me, even with the best-laid plans, new ideas WILL surface as you go.

Hope this helps!

Great response! That makes a lot of sense to me and thank you for the book – I just received it. I also purchased your 101 Tips e-book and have found the tips well worth the $10.

Let me take a look at Story Structure Demystified and I’ll repost my thoughts here (and of course pay you for the book ; )

Thanks again for the response.

- Jeff

I spent October preparing for Nano, outline and all. So I’m not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer. But I’m such a newbie, the ‘writer’ part of that phrase is still shiny, so I can use all the help I can get. And your story structure helps SO much, I don’t know if I can explain it all. But you asked that I do tell you, so I’m trying.

I had been able to outline the first half of my novel just fine. From there, well, it kind of got blurry. I wasn’t sure about the ending even (my inspiration was the beginning, in this case). Your structure pointed out what I need from beginning, middle, and ending, and helped me flesh out a lot of the story.

I have to say it didn’t fix all of the particulars. I still don’t know what exactly will be my 2nd plot point or pinch point. But now that I know I NEED one, I don’t feel like I’m working in the dark. And that work help me realize a couple of characters that need a little more work – that’s what’s keeping that 2nd part from coming together.

So, huge thanks from this newbie. And I’ll let you know how it goes at the end of November. If I can still type.

I’ve read McKee’s book and I’ve taken his seminar (me and 500 other people, all at $495… not a bad day for ol’ Robert). Here’s the deal: McKee’s approach is almost exclusively for screenwriters. Sure, he says “it’ll also work for novelists,” but there isn’t a literary moment to be found. It’s all screenwriting. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I learned a lot of what I teach from him, and from Syd Field, and from my own research into published books (didn’t need to research movies, which, as a screenwriter myself, I love) since those guys have done it for us. But I do enjoy seeing structure play itself out in every movie I see.

I acknowledge that’s where I learned structure. I also acknowledge that this “translation for novelists” is what I’ve done, haven’t seen done, can’t find anywhere, and stand behind the fact that nobody in the novel-writing world is presenting structure this way, this clearly, and with the necessary differences when applied to novels. That’s my little corner of this game. That’s how I’m different that McKee — I make this work for novelists. It’s also good stuff for screenwriters, by they way, because I bring a much more literary context to it all. With either application, we really can’t hear too much of this stuff. I’d take McKee’s workshop again in a heartbeat.

Tell you what. I have your email. I’ll send you the ebook. If you like it, if you feel it goes where McKee doesn’t, feel free to pay me. If not, no problem, just trash it. Based on feedback, writers are telling me this is the best thing they’ve ever read about storytelling.

Hope this helps, Jeff. Let me know your thoughts.

Your ebook looks interesting, but I have to address the elephant in the room: you state that most writing books/courses don’t address story structure, but you seem to be studiously ignoring Robert McKee and his more-than-well-known seminar, Story Structure, along with his book, Story.

I apologize if this sounds confrontational, but exactly how is your e-book different from McKee’s material? If you can answer that, I’ll very likely buy from you. And I think if you address that up front, you’ll get a lot more buyers/conversions to boot.

Respectfully,
- Jeff