Book writing - dramatic structure part 3

Here's an example of the dramatic structure for the ending of your fiction book.

* The heroine loses everything. This happens about 3/4 into your novel. Think about what could be the worst possible thing that could happen to your heroine - and then make it happen! Our heroine is really finished now.

Or is she..?

* Using what she has learned in the "new world" the heroine rises from her misery and wins against all odds!

* In the final pages the heroine is back into her "old world" again, but now there's a balance in her life. She learned things in the "new world" that she now applies in the "old world." She has become a new, wiser person for going through this story. And she can now live a better life, she's not doing the mistakes she did at the beginning of the novel anymore.

Book writing - dramatic structure part 2

Here's an example of the dramatic structure for the middle of your fiction book.

* The heroine now enters a "new world." It could be moving to a new city, or starting a new job or school.

* She discovers her goal. Perhaps it's winning a mans heart (if you're writing a love story) or maybe finding out the identity of a killer ( if you're writing a thriller)

* At the middle of your novel everything looks good for the heroine. She's making progress.

But she's about to take a huge fall...

Book writing - dramatic structure part 1

Here's an example of the dramatic structure for the beginning of your fiction book.

* Introduce your heroine. We see her everyday life, but life's not good at all. She's having all sorts of trouble, making mistakes, or she's living her life all wrong. Let's call this her "old world"

* Then something happens that catapult her life in a new direction. Our heroine is about to enter a "new world.."

Book writing - Outline

The best way to write your book is to make an outline first. That means writing down your entire plot on one or two pages. Yes, the entire plot of your book, from beginning to end. And, yes, that means you have to be very short and to the point. Here you can see what works and what doesn't. It's easier to fix by rewriting some sentences than rewriting whole chapters later.

Some writers prefer just writing from the heart and don't care much for an outline. Try both ways yourself and see which fits you best.