Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2159
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There are few guides specifically for novels, but there are numerous books about story structure for screenwriters:

- _[The Anatomy of Story](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0865479933)_ by John Truby. This is my favorite of the bunch. He describes 22 steps that successful movies often follow. The steps follow several interweaving arcs, including an outer problem, an inner "what the character has to learn" arc, and subplots in which other characters give feedback to the main character, and otherwise advise or illustrate the wisdom of various strategies.
- _[The Moral Premise](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1932907130)_ by Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D. Williams focuses on the "what the character has to learn" story thread, but he also talks about other story elements, and turning points along the way. Despite the title, this isn't about how to be blatantly moralistic. And despite Williams including Ph.D. as part of his byline, it isn't the least bit academic.
- _[Inside Story](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0978812913)_ by Dara Marks. Simpler than either Truby or Williams, but also somewhat richer in ways that I can't put into words. Focuses on three storylines: The outer story, the character's inner arc, and a "relationship" story through which the main character learns key lessons to apply to the other two storylines.
- _[Save the Cat](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1932907009)_ by Blake Snyder. This is something of a recent classic, though it feels more formulaic than the others, with less depth. Snyder includes a 15-step "beat sheet" that seems more appropriate to (formulatic) movies than to novels, but you can probably find something useful for novels here.
- _[Story Engineering](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1582979987)_ by Larry Brooks. I found Brooks's tone enormously annoying, and his content mostly short on detail. Still, I did find a few nuggets here. This book focuses more on novels, though many of its examples are from movies.

As I said, most of these are about screenplays and not novels. If you've ever read a great book, then seen the movie, you'll know that advice about screenplays applies to novels only with a good deal of adaptation. But the first three books on this list are quite rich in ideas about the structure of stories, and what makes the structure work. The three authors reach similar conclusions, though they each emphasize different elements of their common ideas. I highly recommend the first three. If you want more, take a peek at the others.

Original score: 8