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| Author: James Scott Bell
Publisher: Writers Digest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $11.55
You Save: $5.44 (32%)
Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 2013
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 158297294X
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.394
UPC: 035313109423
EAN: 9781582972947
Publication Date: October 6, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Want to know a secret? May 19, 2005
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
There are some fantastic how-to books out there on writing the novel, and I think I own them all. I've always felt each book held something back from me... gave me just enough info to whet my appetite, but not enough for me to grasp the plot of my own novel. While reading Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell I learned how to tie all that info together. Bell supplied what was missing from all the other books. He shared secrets. This book is priceless!
A 'must have' book July 23, 2005
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have a shelf three feet long devoted to how-to writing books. This is one of the few that has spent any length of time off the shelf and in my hands. The advice is readable, applicable and practical.Though I have a number of published books behind me, I found many concepts that gave me numerous Aha!! moments that I am already applying to my current novel. The book is a 'must have' for those who want to write and don't really know where to start as well as for published authors who can always use one more piece of solid writing advice.
One of three writing books I can't live without! March 29, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Like a lot of my peers, I love books about writing. And also like my peers, I have my favorites and host of others I think are terrible.
Okay... maybe terrible isn't the right word. A matter of taste? In any case, I don't like 'em.
I'm skipping some of the biggies, namely Stephen King's ON WRITING and Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD. Both those books are on all of our bookshelves and I've never seen a writer badmouth either one. Just assume I love them, too.
As a general rule, the writing books I hate are the ones that tell me how to write... or, I should say, talk about the process of writing without couching the text with the caveat that it's how the author writes.
On the other hand, the ones I love the most are the books that help me solve a problem. The first writing book that ever fit that bill for me was James Scott Bell's PLOT & STRUCTURE.
I remember standing in the book store one afternoon and cracking this book open to read the introduction. He titled it "Putting The Big Lie To Sleep."
How's that for a grabber?
What he wrote described my writing life. He told the story of how he'd wasted valuable years of his own writing life because he had the misfortune of being informed in college that writing cannot be taught... that either ya got it or ya don't got it.
It was actually worse for me because it was my own wrong thinking that dissuaded me from pursuing fiction writing further. I can remember sitting in a fiction class while in college and reading a fellow student's short story for critique.
His beautiful prose, his command of language, his seemingly effortless craft... it floored me.
I also remember thinking to myself, "I don't think I can ever be this good." By the way, I can't remember a thing about that guy's story except that it had chess in it.
So, there, sometime in late 2005, in the middle of Barnes & Noble, it was spelled out to me that all these years--fifteen years to be more exact--were nothing more than hogwash. And like I said, I'd been the one that did to me.
But getting to the more practical matters, the book is rife with exercises and examples that illuminate the concepts Bell teaches in the book... from basic story structure and plotting (duh), to character arc, to plotting systems, to troubleshooting common mistakes. It doesn't always help me solve a problem now, but it was a significant find for me in believing I can write fiction again.
Clear, Insightful, Helpful August 4, 2006
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
I am currently writing my fifth published novel and found this book to be very helpful in the process of both refining my plot and my characters. The writing is clear, insighful, and specific enough to be of real use. The examples and end-of-chapter questions are extremely useful. I highly recommend this excellent book both for beginning and seasoned novelists.
ONE OF THE BEST December 6, 2006
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
PLOT & STRUCTURE, by James Scott Bell, is a comprehensive look at these aspects of fiction. This is an insightful study of plot and structure, together with practical tips and exercises on how to improve skills. I didn't agree with all of the author's thinking and explanation, but this is certainly one of the best books on these subjects.
This is one of four in the Write Great Fiction series by Writer's Digest Books: 1)Plot & Structure; 2)Character, Emotion & Viewpoint; 3)Description & Setting; and 4)Dialogue. Each volume provides an in-depth, thought-provoking look at its subject matter. All four belong in a novelist's reference library.
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