Sunday Book Review – The Plot Whisperer
Today’s book review is on a wonderful book I read while on vacation that I’d recommend to all writers, The Plot Whisperer. This book is a wonderful rundown about how to construct plotting stories for writing books, offering various methods of outlining for both, the plotter and the pantser.
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Blurb:
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 bestselling 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
Filled with dozens of exercises and examples from both classic and contemporary novels and best-selling authors such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and many more, The Plot Whisperer is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners filled with conflict and suspense that sell!
My 5 Star Review
This book offers a great breakdown of plot construction in simplified terms and added pages of infographic charts indicating elements of peaks and scene trackers demonstrating where to drive plot crisis from beginning to end of a book.
The author also offers handy tips, such as using post-it-notes of various colors to represent characters and their traits for tracking progression throughout the story.
There is also a section explaining the difference between the writing process for authors who are both right and left-brained writers. Interesting deductions are made stating left-brained writers are analytical, detail-oriented, dramatic writers who prefer pre-plotting and outlining, and language preference to big picture, compared to right-brained writers who are stated to be more intuitive toward character emotion, preference to pictures more than language, and who are referred to as pantsers because of the thrill of writing on the seat of their pants. I’d highly recommend this book for all writers new and old.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
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dgkaye
D.G. Kaye is a nonfiction/memoir writer, who writes from her own life experiences and self-medicates with a daily dose of humor.
26 Comments
hilarymb
Hi DG – sounds like a really useful book – I’ve noted it … thank you – Hilary
dgkaye
Hi Hilary. Thanks for stopping by and glad you found the post informative. 🙂
Jacqui Murray
I loved this book when I read it years ago. She had a lot of common sense suggestions.
dgkaye
That’s why I liked it too, common sense suggestions and examples. 🙂
Christy B
This book sounds so informative and could really help a writer with strengthening the plot! Thanks for the recommendation, Debby 🙂
dgkaye
My pleasure Christy. 🙂 xx
D. Wallace Peach
Sounds like a worthwhile read, Debby. I like visuals along with examples. Thanks for the review.
dgkaye
Thanks Diana. 🙂 I do too.
Stevie Turner
Sounds interesting! I never plot anything – just make it all up as I go along.
dgkaye
Lol as many of us do. But at least we have some sort of a guideline. Like I like to write out chapters to cover and jot points I want to cover for each and then go on a tear. 🙂 Somewhere between a plotter and a pantser = a plotser, lol. 🙂
Sarah Brentyn
I’ve blogged a bunch of times about my pantsing. I’m, like, 110% pantser. So this looks really interesting. Off to take peek. Thanks for sharing this!
dgkaye
Lol, I used to be like you, I’m getting better but still much of a ‘plotser’. 🙂
Norah Colvin
Sounds like a really useful book. Thanks for the review of it, Debby.
dgkaye
Thank you Norah. The beauty of this book is it’s for all genre writers and plotters and pantsers alike. 🙂
robbiesinspiration
This sounds like a really useful book, Debby. I think I will definitely have to get this one.
dgkaye
There’s something in it for all writers Robbie. 🙂
Kev
Interesting review, Debby.
dgkaye
Thanks Kev! 🙂
Annika Perry
Debby, many thanks for the recommendation…some to-do books are so prescriptive but I like the sound of how both the right and left-brained writers are addressed. A very useful book in the toolbox of writing! ?
dgkaye
I’m with you on not preferring ‘prescriptive’ narration. I enjoyed the style of writing of this book, I’m sure you will too. 🙂
lisa thomson-The Great Escape...
This sounds like a fabulous book, Debby. This would certainly help me a great deal. As soon as you mentioned colored sticky notes; I’m all over it. I LOVE sticky notes so if I can use them in my editing process, I’m in. Thanks for the review!
dgkaye
Glad you found it helpful Lisa. I couldn’t be without my post-it-notes, lol. 🙂
macjam47
This sounds like a very informative book.
dgkaye
It is most informative and the beauty is the easy to read structure it’s written in. 🙂 xx
Carol Balawyder
What a great idea to use different colored post-its for different characters. I am definitely a right-brained writer and tend to be disorganized in keeping track of my characters, dates etc.This book sounds useful.
Happy Canada Day! <3
dgkaye
Sounds like me too Carol. That’s why I thought this was a great book. I think you’ll enjoy it. And Happy Canada Day to you my Canadian friend. 🙂 <3