A review by rmlulich
Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories That Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland

5.0

I would recommend this book to any writer. Not because I agree with everything author Jane K Cleland says (I don't); not because her methods are universally applicable (they aren't). I would recommend it because it presents a way of thinking about writing that proved, for me, very useful. I started experimenting with her suggested method of plotting (the TRD roadmap) and found that it didn't work for me at all. But working through many of the pre-writing questions Cleland provides (e.g. What is your project's narrative question?) caused me to stumble upon a completely different method that, so far, is working very well for me. So don't read it as a rule book and don't read it as Gospel truth. Read it as a prompt. Let it help you think through an analysis of how you work and find what methods work for you. For that, it is really excellent.