How to Write a Novel That Stands Out (Helping Writers Become Authors Book 6)

The author does a great job deciphering the different elements of structure and clarified so many pieces I'd been unclear about. Her examples always illustrate clearly what she means. So thankful for KM Weiland and her teaching.

Wonderful summary of understanding story structure! I admire and appreciate Weiland's willingness to share which makes her books all the more appreciated. I would recommend this little nugget to writers at any point in their writing career.

A very short read that expands on her other works on story structure. I highly recommend picking up her other books if you're serious about wanting to grasp the foundation of what it means to write a story.

I have a hard time absorbing all the informationon on structure on the first pass through this book. I'll have to review it another time or two before I feel like I've got all the concepts. Then it will take a lot of practice.

The biggest thing I noticed was how structure exists in all stories. When you take control of that structure, you take control of the story and can make it do more of what you want.

This book revolutionized the way I plot and structure my stories. I'm a solid writer, but all my experience is in research, my break into fiction has been rocky and full of mistakes. Weiland is changing that for me. I've tried other books about plotting, structure and orgainzation, but Weilands style speaks to me and works well. I highly suggest giving her a try and seeing for yourself.

If you've been going back and forth about whether or not you should use story structure when brainstorming, outlining, or fixing a work in progress this book will be a great resource. The author provides a quick description of each element of story structure along with explanations about how to use them to get the most out of your story. This book is a quick read, the information is straight forward and easy to understand. I think this e-book is a great sample of the wealth of knowledge K.M. Weiland has to offer.

5 Secrets of Story Structure is written in a friendly and approachable way. I gained some helpful information and ideas for my current work in progress while reading it. Based on that alone, I highly recommend this book. I completely agree with the author's view that story structure isn't about sticking to a formula, but rather a backbone to your story.

Kim lays out story structure Ina way you can understand and apply easily to your work in progress.
Don't think you need structure?
Think again-pretty much every good book and movie follow structure, even if you don't realize it. Kim uses many examples here to prove it, and this will definitely make you a better writer.

I've read + own bookcases full of books on writing. Great series for beginning and advanced writers alike. Great refresher. My kids and I love this author. Her blog is amazing. Helps understand the CRAFT of writing. It's also how we discovered the Ender's Game series we're reading through now. Epic on all levels. WORTH 5x more than price.

Weiland's straightforward guide to story structure really helped me understand how a story is put together and why it holds up. This is a quick read on an important subject in writing. I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of K. M. Weiland's other books on writing, as well as anyone looking to understand the details of storytelling in depth. Great book!

This is like a distilled version of her story structure book. I love that it's a quick read, easy to consume, and convenient to turn to when you need a refresher on structure. Definitely a handy book to have in a writer's / author's arsenal.

Weiland provides excellent instructions on the essential elements of what it takes to start your story. If you think you're ready to start your novel but want just a down and dirty primer, this is a good investment.

There's not much instruction on scenes themselves, but there are other resources for that. That's why I didn't give it a five, but this book is good for what it advertises: structure.

Thanks for a great book and the insight you provide. It will help me vastly when I put my first novel together. The willingness of your sharing this information should be commended as I am sure many writers will benefit as well as their readers. I have read thousands of books over my lifetime and never realized story structure was so important. Thank you again.

Introduction:
Structured story plots have been a problem for me in the past, but I never knew what to do about it, so I just kept plugging along. Then I came across this book and will not have that problem any more.

Clarity: 1/1
K.M. Weiland always does a great job explaining things clearly and concisely. This book is no exception.

Usability: 1/1
I've already started using it. I started using the tips the day I started reading it, actually. I had just started outlining a new book and this book helped me outline it in a way that followed the proper story structure. Now I'm even more excited than before to start writing!

Readability: 1/1
K.M. Weiland started out with a summary of each point in the story structure and then had a few chapters that had more detail about each act. This made the book very readable as terms were explained first and then described later.

Overall writing quality: 1/1
The writing quality was great! I didn't find any typos and each word was obviously chosen with care.

Un-put-down-ability: 1/1
After reading half of the first chapter, I ended up setting the book aside for about a week due to busyness and illness, but when I picked it up again, I couldn't put it down.

Conclusion: 5/5
Even if you think you know how to structure your story, I think this is a must-read for every writer. It's short, easy to read, and you might just pick up a tip or two or ten. What's a little over an hour out of your day if it helps make you a better writer?

The author has written multiple books on writing books and even has an amazing blog to go with it. But first, the book.

This was the first book I read by her and it seems as if it would be better to read Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel first. Even without reading them though, I found this book indispensable in helping me write my book.

The first chapter explains how to structure your novel which seemed to be an overview of her Structuring Your Novel book. So if you haven’t read her other books, you could proceed with this one.

The other chapters go more in-depth in the other parts of the book: inciting event, key event, pinch points, moment of truth, climactic moment and conclusion.

The author explains in Chapter 7 how she at first resisted the idea of story structure. She figured fiction shouldn’t be forced to adhere to a structure. Then she found out that all the books that “work” inherently follow this structure. Even books by authors who didn’t know about structuring. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading and was grateful to know that it wasn’t about making your book fit this random structure but about following the structure that we tend to love. I think this should have been in Chapter 1 though.

Since reading the book I have moved on to her blog, Helping Writers Become Authors which I must say is the BEST writing blog I’ve found so far. It’s AMAZING.

Short read but pack with pointed advice that addressed specific elements that all authors need to know. The author tells you this is a supplement to highlight specific concepts of the inciting incident in closer detail. K. M. Weiland has a story database on her website where she breaks down movies to show the story arc and this book gives a bit of inside look at her thought process in defining these elements that are used in books and movies. She helps you understand how they work and what they are supposed to accomplish. I own all her books about writing. They are smart, clear and full of information. I will buy whatever she releases, so yes I recommend her.

I received the book free on her website, so posted review.

Excellent explanation of story structure. For the first time in years and years, I don't see structure as an intimidating formula of restraints. This just plain makes sense. And the more I read, the more I thought, "Hmm... I pretty much did that in my story... and that and that." It was reassuring when K.M. Weiland pointed out that structure can be instinctive. It was also reassuring to finally understand what good structure looks like.

As for the reviewer who complained that Weiland uses too many movies as examples to demonstrate good structure.... that's just crazy. Good story-telling is good story-telling. The medium used to deliver the story doesn't matter The basics are always the same in a story that works. I think movies are good examples because 1) they tend to have a wider audience base and 2) their shorter format makes them easier to analyze.

Also, props to Weiland for giving this entire concept away for free. Is it designed to generate more interest in her other titles? Of course! And you know what? It works. This information is so useful, I can't wait to investigate more of her work. And I think it'll be worth it.

Writing fiction is actually pretty easy; writing a piece of fiction that people will enjoy is like a Labor of Hercules.
Or at least it can feel that way unless one has a good foundation of structure under their feet. Fortunately, K.M. Weiland has written this quick, invaluable guide to the major signposts of structure. She lays it out very succinctly, such that, once the signposts have been put down, it is much easier to connect them all and write a coherent, satisfying story. Writing well will never be easy; 5 Secrets of Story Structure can make it seem that way.