Monday Morning Plot Book Group -- the Climax Scene

How do you do endings? Do you put forth effort all the way to the very end? Do you give up before you reach the end? Do you throw something together just to have an end? Do you push yourself even harder to finish with a flourish? Do you stay in the moment of writing your story all the way to the end?

The countdown to the end of NaNoWriMo has started. Soon you'll have to remember your life before nanowrimo but for now, you've still got time to write a lot more words. Every word nearer you write to the end, the better off you'll be next month when we start in on PlotWriMo.

Because of PlotWriMo, there will be no Monday Morning Plot Book Group during December. We will reconvene in January. (NOTE: I did say in today's video that we'd likely make The Secret Garden the January selection. Read the POST for an explanation why we are NOT using The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett... what fails as a climax scene, and why I gave a novel I remember as a favorite when I was a kid a 1-star out of a possible 5 on Goodreads)

November's book selection for Monday Morning Plot Book Group for Writers is

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The Alchemist has sold more than 65 million copies in 150 countries and been translated into 60 languages. I use Coelho's story to demonstrate some of the plot techniques from the Universal Story he used so effectively that his novel continues after nearly 30 years as an international bestselling phenomenon.

I chose Coelho's novel because his story inspires me and had a direct impact on The Plot Whisperer book. Watch how he creates the Climax of his novel.

For more support about the Climax scene:
1) Check out Chapter 11 of:

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (Now also sold as a Kindle edition)

2) Watch:

The Beginning of the End

Thematic Significance

Develop the Scene Sequence to Climax

How to Write the Climax

Resolution

For more about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, read: The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
and visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Monday Morning Plot Book Group -- End of the Beginning Scene

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo, this blog post is of special interest to you because it falls on the day you need to be writing the End of the Beginning scene in your story to stay on schedule and complete your entire novel, memoir, screenplay by the last day of November. (To learn how to pre-plot your writing time and ensure you end the month of November with a solid beginning, middle and end to your story. To read more...)

November's book selection for Monday Morning Plot Book Group for Writers is

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The Alchemist has sold more than 65 million copies in 150 countries and been translated into 60 languages. I use Coelho's story to demonstrate some of the plot techniques from the Universal Story he used so effectively that his novel continues after nearly 30 years as an international bestselling phenomenon.

I chose Coelho's novel because his story inspires me and had a direct impact on The Plot Whisperer book.

Last week -- 1G you are asked to: Insert on your story's Plot Planner a post-it note that represents the Climax of your story.

This week -- 1H, you are asked to: Insert on your story's Plot Planner a post-it note that represents the End of the Beginning scene of your story.

For more support about the End of the Beginning scene:
1) Check out Chapter 8 of:

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (Now also sold as a Kindle edition)

2) Watch:

Plotting the Beginning
Energy Anatomy of Stories

***I am giving away 4 free autographed copies of the book AND

and a Scene Tracker Kit.

To enter, simply comment on each of fourteen blogs that took part in the mega-blog book tour

and listed on the Master Schedule. As one writer says of the experience: "I feel like I just took in a 2 hour writing workshop in a few minutes."

For more about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, read: The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
and visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Plot Book Group for Writers

Last month's book selection for the Monday's Plot Book Group for Writers is Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. (I'm a bit behind due to the mega-blog tour and release of The Plot Whisperer book. My apologies for the delay.)

Last week - 1F- you were asked to:

- Determine the 4 Energetic Markers for your story.

This week - 1G you are asked to:

- Insert on your story's Plot Planner a post-it note that represents the Climax of your story.

For more support about the Climax, check out Chapter 11 of:

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (Now also sold as a Kindle edition)

Next week's book selection is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

***I am giving away 4 free autographed copies of the book AND

and a Scene Tracker Kit.

To enter, simply comment on each of fourteen blogs that took part in the mega-blog book tour

and listed on the Master Schedule. As one writer says of the experience: "I feel like I just took in a 2 hour writing workshop in a few minutes."

For more about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, read: The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
and visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Plot Book Group for Writers

Each Monday, we upload the latest session of the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? Plot Book Group for Writers. This month's book selection is Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson.

We chose Helen Simonson's debut novel and New York Times best-seller, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand to demonstrate some of the plot techniques she used so effectively that the story won a coveted New York Times Book Review.

Last week - 1A - you were asked to:

- Determine the basic structure of your story

This week - 1B - you are asked to:

- Begin a Plot Planner for your story with the protagonist's character emotional change from the beginning to the end of the story

For more support, check out Chapter 3 of:

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master

For more about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, read: The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
and visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Universal Story -- Test Your Story

The next Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? Plot Book Group for Writers has officially begun!

Every Monday we upload a new video with a brief plot discussion, using a new novel, memoir or screenplay selection each month -- this month is Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson.

At the end of each session, you are assigned a task to apply to your own novel, memoir, screenplay. These exercises are designed to give you the opportunity to deepen your relationship to your story's plot and structure, character development and thematic significance.

Click to view the first in the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? Plot Book Group for Writers

For added support regarding each week's plot discussion, you are invited to view a specific video(s) in the 1st Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay?

and to follow along in The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of the Universal Story Structure Any Writer Can Master

For more about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, read: The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of the Universal Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
and visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Happy plotting,

Martha Alderson

AKA The Plot Whisperer