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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: 1804
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:
Great resource October 20, 2007
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've been writing non fiction for over ten years. This summer I decided to start working on a novel that has been brewing in my mind since I was fourteen. I wrote the first three chapters and my plot stalled. This book gave me the ideas I needed to get excited about my novel. I own many "how to" books on writing and this one is laid out brilliantly.
 If you have common sense, you don't need this book. November 28, 2007
12 out of 68 found this review helpful
What this book should be called is 'How to Sell Your Soul for a Monetarily-Successful Writing Career: Now in 14 Intensely Dull Chapters!'. Bell goes on and on about 'connecting with the reader', but it's really just a thinly-veiled way of saying 'sell a lot of copies'. Which is fine, I guess, but it gets old.
Even disregarding that aspect of it, it's not that what Bell has to say is all bad; he does discuss a lot of important principles. But if one has ever taken any kind of writing class at all, or even simply read a book, one should be able to figure it out on one's own. Essentially, this is a book for the people who didn't pay attention in high school English.
The Best Book on Writing I've Read November 4, 2004
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
As a writer, I'm always looking for good books on craft. Jim Bell's new book is the easiest to understand and most comprehensive book I've ever read. If want to learn the craft or take your writing to a higher level, this book is for you. It lays out exactly how to create the plot skeleton and how to flesh out the story from there. Though I've published going on thirty books, I learned more from this book than my library of books on writing. Highly recommended!
Bell instructs--and inspires! February 2, 2005
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was about two weeks into the task of plotting and structuring a very convoluted time-travel novel when I received my copy of PLOT & STRUCTURE. I immediately delved into the book and gained valuable insights that enabled me to manage and harness the complexities of my story. And James Scott Bell doesn't merely instruct-he inspires. Let me show you what I mean. Near the end of the book, he writes:
"So what are you writing for? If it is only for money or fame, you'll miss the spark that makes both of those things possible. Go further. . . . Develop a vision for yourself as a writer. Make it something that excites you. Turn that into a mission statement-one paragraph that sums up your hopes and dreams as a writer. Read this regularly. Revise it from time to time to reflect your growth. . . . If you stay true to your own awe, your books cannot help being charged with meaning. That's not just a great way to write. It's a great way to live" [Page 204].
James Scott Bell has written a book you'll want to read straight through, then go back and refer to again and again. Powerful visual diagrams, practical exercises, techniques for brainstorming ideas, valuable tips and tools, and a checklist at the end makes this one of the most useful and user-friendly books on writing I've ever encountered. Whether you are an aspiring writer, just learning your trade, or an experienced pro, wanting to take your craft to the next level, I highly recommend PLOT & STRUCTURE.
While I've just started this book, it's been a great help and inspiration! March 15, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
James Scott Bell's excellent Plot & Structure volume has helped me where courses, software and other books have not.
His simple LOCK system immediately clicked and after reading the first four chapters yesterday, I found myself awake early this morning writing a more detailed story/synopsis for a screenplay by effortlessly incorporating this system and several other key concepts listed within the first four chapters.
I also found immense relief in Mr. Bell's mention that having hundreds of ideas is a good thing. It's hard for me to settle in with just one idea, but I find that having so many ideas come to the forefront is now a gift rather than a setback.
Beyond shutting up my internal censor and making time to write, plotting was my greatest nemesis. I can clearly see this won't be the case following the principles set forth here.
True, I have not completed the book, but I feel like this is the best $11.55 ever spent on my writing education. To see this much of a transformation in my fiction, in hours I'm convinced. I'm looking forward to finishing Plot & Structure and my first screenplay :)
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