Sources and Resources

The following books provided the foundation that Story Sculptor is built around. All provide great insight into story structure.

I didn't intentionally stick to screenplay writing books, but found once I started (with Save the Cat) I could grasp the explanations much better because I'd seen many of the movies they were referencing. And if I hadn't seen one, I could change that in about 2 hours. ;-)

Blake Snyder and John Truby discuss plotting in reference to writing both books and screenplays. (I think Vogler does too.) Anyway, breaking down structure through screenplays is an easy beginning point for those just starting to structure their stories.

The three structures come from:

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder
A very detailed breakdown of the steps a character takes in pursuit of his goal. It is particularly useful for the details of 2nd Acts that most writing books describe unhelpfully as "rising action." The examples range from comedies to critically acclaimed dramas to action movies. The follow up book, Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies provides even more examples in much greater detail.

Save the Cat! Strikes Back
by Blake Snyder
Blake Snyder began doing workshops on his structure which helped him clarify and flesh out some of the things he described in Save the Cat! He especially expanded on what happens in Act 3. Also very worthwhile for the detailed breakdowns of 50 movies is Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told.


My Story Can Beat Up Your Story: Ten Ways to Toughen Up Your Screenplay from Opening Hook to Knockout Punch
by Jeffrey Alan Schechter
Another but different detailed story structure. Also help on toughening up your Hero and Villain, whipping the allies into a team and culling the hangers-on. Also a Kindle edition.



The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (Kindle)
by John Truby
A much more detailed dive into story structure as well as theme, plot, scene structure, symbols, characters. It will give you a better understanding of the "why" behind Blake Snyder's and Jeffrey Schechter's "what". (No longer in hard copy print.)



The first 3 are very easy reads, good for bathroom breaks during National Novel Writers Month. The Anatomy of Story goes into more depth and a bit of a challenge for NaNo.


These clarified and expanded on many points:

Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc
by Dara Marks
She makes a great argument for growing a story from the theme, how everything: characters, flaws, goal, environment all flow from the theme. My feeling is those who write for fun, who write to explore characters won't find the big tying-together ideas until they've worked with their characters for a while. So, while the idea is good for everyone, I think for most who write for fun this will be very helpful to whip a first draft into a story. (Out of print. There may be a couple of reasonably priced ones left. Hopefully it will be released on Kindle.)

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogel
All the structures are based on Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. If Campbell's book intimidates you, this book is more accessible to beginning writers. This will give you a much better understanding of the distilled versions of the structure along with insights of his own.

These will add greatly to your understanding and help you add the depth you need to make the structure invisible to the reader. They need more dedicated time to absorb than what you might find during NaNoWriMo.

Also, a big part of the Fears and Motivations list:

45 Master Characters, Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters
by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
It's an absolute wealth of ideas on what 45 archetypes care about, are motivated by, their strengths, weaknesses, what conflicts they're likely to create, fears, how others will see them, who they'll get along with, who will prickle them … It's now available in a Kindle edition so with the amazingness of the internet you can have it in your possession practically before you take your next breath. ;-) (The reviews on the new edition are thin. The older edition reviews will give you a better idea of the book.)