The Plot Whisperer, by Martha Alderson
“When it comes to writing bestsellers, it’s all about the plot. Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down–but you don’t have to be one of them.
With this book, you’ll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers–one scene at a time.
Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that’s as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you’ll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to:
•Use the power of the Universal Story
•Create plot lines and subplots that work together
•Effectively use a scene tracker for maximum impact
•Insert energetic markers at the right points in your story
•Show character transformation at the book’s climax
This is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners that sell!”
This is an indispensable book. Quote:
“You imagine yourself into being a writer. Your imagination allows you to see worlds invisible to others. Imagine the Universal Story into reality and reclaim a miraculous and mysterious way of being.
Yes. Yes, please.
Birth, crossing thresholds, struggles, crisis, high point, and resolution/death. This sequence, which she calls the Universal Story, a.k.a the Hero’s Journey, underpins every successful story. Martha Alderson translates Jung and Campbell, and makes it logical and accessible.
She describes sitting at her kitchen table and making a chart of all her favorite books and seeing a pattern, a pattern that looks like this:
( you’ll need the book to read/ understand the specifics but that’s the basic shape)
Then, She explains how your story can work within this template.
I had a good grasp of characters and basic plot, but this book finally allowed me to understand structure and timing. What happens when, and why. I finally understood that plot and characters were not separate entities, but intertwined things that merge into and change each other. I began to think of plot as a type of character. This, was a major revelation and relief. I didn’t know how little I knew about Plot.
Thanks, Martha for saving me from myself.