Scan barcode
tokengeekgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I just recently got this book, just in time for pre-Nanowrimo planning. So I'm going to be using October to go through the book to plan my novel for November! So this is just part one, what I've read so far and my initial thoughts. I'll have another post mid-October for an update, then a concluding post at the end of October.
We'll see how it goes.
First, I recommend the ebook, as a good half of the book is made up of worksheets that you can print and fill out. Some of these may need to be printed multiple times, to fit all the information you need. So the ebook version will save you some time.
Introduction
Admittedly, I haven't gotten very far in the book yet. In fact, I've just read chapter one and filled out the worksheets related to the story bible. So far, though, the book is very good!
I'm working on a novel that generated from my short story challenge during Nanowrimo last year, so I already have about 6200 words written. For me, that's a good thing. It gives me a good handle on the main character and proves (to myself, at least) that I am excited enough about the idea that I can get a full novel out of it.
It does not, however, mean that I have any idea where this novel is going.
That's where this book comes in. We start with a brief introduction that explains the journalist's lede and how it can apply to fiction. We are going to use the "5 W's" (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) to make our own story stronger. Alright. That will be in later weeks. For this first week I have only read Chapter One: Your Story Bible.
Chapter Two: The Story Bible
This goes over the very basics of your story, giving an in depth description of things like POV and narration and choosing a protagonist. It also gives a checklist for if you even need a story bible, which I appreciated, even though I always need a story bible for novels.
Some of the worksheets were easy to fill out because I had already made a lot of these decisions when I wrote the first two chapters of the book. Some are continuing worksheets that I will fill out in November, like the characters, objects, and places lists. But some were a lot more difficult to fill out. I had to really give some thought to, like what genre conventions I was going to stick to and which ones I might twist. I might come back to that one after I've done a bit more with premise and plot.
Some of the worksheets in chapter one are more geared toward ongoing story generation rather than working on the story idea you have already, but that's fine. I just printed those out to put in another notebook for generating lots of story ideas. Now I have more approaches than just scrolling through TV Tropes and figuring out how I want to twist them!
One of the best things about this book so far is the Language Worksheets. This main character is very different than any others I've written before, partially because she is less educated and uses a lot of "thieves cant" that I'm making up as I go along. So I have lots of printable worksheets where I can list out all the words she uses and their definitions. Plus language worksheets where I can work out a grammar and syntax, if I want to take the jargon a step further.
Other bits of note: A Storyboarding worksheet for figuring out bits of action. A Blocking worksheet for working out a fight scene, among other things. A Novelist Lede worksheet for reworking the opening several times until you get it just right.
Part 2: The mid month check in
Chapter Two: Examine the Question--WHO?
I loved the character chapter of this book. Mainly because it forced me to go through lots of exercises meant to bring out all the aspects of my main character. I often start a story with only a vague idea of the fullness of my main character, so I often end up writing essays in the middle of my novel justifying why my character is acting a certain way. So having this already planned out was a great thing
And then Royer had me do it again, for the Antagonist.
And again, for the Ally
And in some places, again, for the love interest and mentor.
It was a little dizzying. But I can tell it was good work, and I will be grateful for it, I'm sure, once I start using it to write.
Chapter Three: Examine the Question--WHAT?
I also liked how the WHAT? chapter led gently and precisely to the premise of the story, which is something that I have always struggled with. When I got to the last worksheet, which had me writing out my premise three different ways, I felt like I was just filling in the blanks, because I had already done all the other work.
It started off with an exploration of me as a writer, what I wanted to accomplish, and the kinds of stories I wanted to tell. It dovetailed nicely with the WHO chapter, because it then went over the character relationships, goals, stakes, and tension that arises there. I did leave a lot of these worksheets blank, because they were about plot twists and bunnies that I want to discover as I write.
Part Three: End of Month, Final Nanowrimo Prep
Chapter Four: Examine the Questions--WHEN? and WHERE?
This chapter was so interesting. I previously just had a kind of generic, medieval-castle-town-grown-large setting for this story. These worksheet forced me to examine every aspect of both when and where I was setting my story. Royer let me experiment with three different time periods to see what would fit the story best. Even though I was working with a fantasy setting on a made-up world, she had me figure out real life examples for things like population and distance from the sea, so that I could decide what would work best.
Then we moved onto the more fantastical elements, like the magic systems and technological levels. Though I didn't use it for this novel, she does have worksheets for making up aliens/fantasy races. Then several different setting worksheets, depending on what you want your setting to do for you.
But I skipped my favorite worksheet of this whole book, though it was the most daunting. A society building worksheet.
A SIXTEEN page society building worksheet.
After I worked my way through that, I felt I had a much better grasp of what was going on, and the politics and backstory. With that in mind, I was much better able to handle...
Chapter Five: Examine the Questions--HOW? and WHY?
THE PLOT!
Royer starts off with generic plot worksheets, where you can explore your plot several different ways to see what works best for you and your plot. It's nice, before a single word has been typed, to have a general outline of where things are going. A causes B causes C and so on. Then you can put that into a four act structure or an eight point beat sheet.
After that, she lists some genre specific beat sheets that weren't really relevant to my current project, but I will definitely be going back to if I ever write a romance, mystery, or horror story.
Once you've got the beat sheet down, Royer gets into the nitty gritty, giving worksheets for a chapter-by-chapter break down of the book. Think that's difficult? Try the next one: scene-by-scene.<
This is where I left it blank. I figure I can write the next day's scenes the night before, based on what I've written during Nano.
So not only do I have a good idea where, in general, my novel is going, but I have a plan for how to get there during the mad month of November!
Then we get to theme. I can feel you rolling your eyes now. Believe me, I felt a little like I was stuck back in high school English when I read this section of the book. But Royer uses it as just another way to give your story meaning. This section built out my characters and setting even more, and tied it all together very nicely.
The Grand Misunderstanding:
The biggest issue I had with the book didn't really have anything to do with the book itself, but more my expectations from the book. This book is meant to be used as a brainstorming tool, a way to develop a story idea no matter where you are in the process. I thought I was getting a book with lots of worksheets for creating a good story bible.
And I am. But it's more than that.
Royer uses these worksheets to explore all aspects of what she is covering in the chapter, not just a list of what you should need just for this story. Because I am making lots of choices and firming up my story idea as I go along, I tend to contradict myself a lot. And there are worksheets that I will toss at the end, because they were just exploring ideas that I then dropped. Even then, I will need to go through and make sure all the info is consistent.
Once I figured that out, it became much easier to fill out the worksheets. Also, I was grateful that I was working in pencil!
It also gave me the freedom to leave some pages blank, especially the ones on symbolism and motif, and trust that my writing will bring that all out.
The (Final) Verdict: This is still a great resource, and I am glad I found it before I started a new novel this year!
We'll see how it goes.
First, I recommend the ebook, as a good half of the book is made up of worksheets that you can print and fill out. Some of these may need to be printed multiple times, to fit all the information you need. So the ebook version will save you some time.
Introduction
Admittedly, I haven't gotten very far in the book yet. In fact, I've just read chapter one and filled out the worksheets related to the story bible. So far, though, the book is very good!
I'm working on a novel that generated from my short story challenge during Nanowrimo last year, so I already have about 6200 words written. For me, that's a good thing. It gives me a good handle on the main character and proves (to myself, at least) that I am excited enough about the idea that I can get a full novel out of it.
It does not, however, mean that I have any idea where this novel is going.
That's where this book comes in. We start with a brief introduction that explains the journalist's lede and how it can apply to fiction. We are going to use the "5 W's" (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) to make our own story stronger. Alright. That will be in later weeks. For this first week I have only read Chapter One: Your Story Bible.
Chapter Two: The Story Bible
This goes over the very basics of your story, giving an in depth description of things like POV and narration and choosing a protagonist. It also gives a checklist for if you even need a story bible, which I appreciated, even though I always need a story bible for novels.
Some of the worksheets were easy to fill out because I had already made a lot of these decisions when I wrote the first two chapters of the book. Some are continuing worksheets that I will fill out in November, like the characters, objects, and places lists. But some were a lot more difficult to fill out. I had to really give some thought to, like what genre conventions I was going to stick to and which ones I might twist. I might come back to that one after I've done a bit more with premise and plot.
Some of the worksheets in chapter one are more geared toward ongoing story generation rather than working on the story idea you have already, but that's fine. I just printed those out to put in another notebook for generating lots of story ideas. Now I have more approaches than just scrolling through TV Tropes and figuring out how I want to twist them!
One of the best things about this book so far is the Language Worksheets. This main character is very different than any others I've written before, partially because she is less educated and uses a lot of "thieves cant" that I'm making up as I go along. So I have lots of printable worksheets where I can list out all the words she uses and their definitions. Plus language worksheets where I can work out a grammar and syntax, if I want to take the jargon a step further.
Other bits of note: A Storyboarding worksheet for figuring out bits of action. A Blocking worksheet for working out a fight scene, among other things. A Novelist Lede worksheet for reworking the opening several times until you get it just right.
Part 2: The mid month check in
Chapter Two: Examine the Question--WHO?
I loved the character chapter of this book. Mainly because it forced me to go through lots of exercises meant to bring out all the aspects of my main character. I often start a story with only a vague idea of the fullness of my main character, so I often end up writing essays in the middle of my novel justifying why my character is acting a certain way. So having this already planned out was a great thing
And then Royer had me do it again, for the Antagonist.
And again, for the Ally
And in some places, again, for the love interest and mentor.
It was a little dizzying. But I can tell it was good work, and I will be grateful for it, I'm sure, once I start using it to write.
Chapter Three: Examine the Question--WHAT?
I also liked how the WHAT? chapter led gently and precisely to the premise of the story, which is something that I have always struggled with. When I got to the last worksheet, which had me writing out my premise three different ways, I felt like I was just filling in the blanks, because I had already done all the other work.
It started off with an exploration of me as a writer, what I wanted to accomplish, and the kinds of stories I wanted to tell. It dovetailed nicely with the WHO chapter, because it then went over the character relationships, goals, stakes, and tension that arises there. I did leave a lot of these worksheets blank, because they were about plot twists and bunnies that I want to discover as I write.
Part Three: End of Month, Final Nanowrimo Prep
Chapter Four: Examine the Questions--WHEN? and WHERE?
This chapter was so interesting. I previously just had a kind of generic, medieval-castle-town-grown-large setting for this story. These worksheet forced me to examine every aspect of both when and where I was setting my story. Royer let me experiment with three different time periods to see what would fit the story best. Even though I was working with a fantasy setting on a made-up world, she had me figure out real life examples for things like population and distance from the sea, so that I could decide what would work best.
Then we moved onto the more fantastical elements, like the magic systems and technological levels. Though I didn't use it for this novel, she does have worksheets for making up aliens/fantasy races. Then several different setting worksheets, depending on what you want your setting to do for you.
But I skipped my favorite worksheet of this whole book, though it was the most daunting. A society building worksheet.
A SIXTEEN page society building worksheet.
After I worked my way through that, I felt I had a much better grasp of what was going on, and the politics and backstory. With that in mind, I was much better able to handle...
Chapter Five: Examine the Questions--HOW? and WHY?
THE PLOT!
Royer starts off with generic plot worksheets, where you can explore your plot several different ways to see what works best for you and your plot. It's nice, before a single word has been typed, to have a general outline of where things are going. A causes B causes C and so on. Then you can put that into a four act structure or an eight point beat sheet.
After that, she lists some genre specific beat sheets that weren't really relevant to my current project, but I will definitely be going back to if I ever write a romance, mystery, or horror story.
Once you've got the beat sheet down, Royer gets into the nitty gritty, giving worksheets for a chapter-by-chapter break down of the book. Think that's difficult? Try the next one: scene-by-scene.<
This is where I left it blank. I figure I can write the next day's scenes the night before, based on what I've written during Nano.
So not only do I have a good idea where, in general, my novel is going, but I have a plan for how to get there during the mad month of November!
Then we get to theme. I can feel you rolling your eyes now. Believe me, I felt a little like I was stuck back in high school English when I read this section of the book. But Royer uses it as just another way to give your story meaning. This section built out my characters and setting even more, and tied it all together very nicely.
The Grand Misunderstanding:
The biggest issue I had with the book didn't really have anything to do with the book itself, but more my expectations from the book. This book is meant to be used as a brainstorming tool, a way to develop a story idea no matter where you are in the process. I thought I was getting a book with lots of worksheets for creating a good story bible.
And I am. But it's more than that.
Royer uses these worksheets to explore all aspects of what she is covering in the chapter, not just a list of what you should need just for this story. Because I am making lots of choices and firming up my story idea as I go along, I tend to contradict myself a lot. And there are worksheets that I will toss at the end, because they were just exploring ideas that I then dropped. Even then, I will need to go through and make sure all the info is consistent.
Once I figured that out, it became much easier to fill out the worksheets. Also, I was grateful that I was working in pencil!
It also gave me the freedom to leave some pages blank, especially the ones on symbolism and motif, and trust that my writing will bring that all out.
The (Final) Verdict: This is still a great resource, and I am glad I found it before I started a new novel this year!
More...