The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
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The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
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The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction takes the mystery out of building a solid story and shows you how to go from idea to complete novel in practical, easy-to-understand steps.
Build smart!
Over and over, struggling writers make the same fatal mistakes in their manuscripts. Even writers who have studied all the best writing craft books and taken workshops and followed writers’ blogs still don’t get the structure. Truth is, a lot of writers believe they can write a novel without taking time to learn the nuts and bolts of novel construction. Just as with building a house, writers need to adeptly wield the proper tools and materials, and follow structurally sound rules if they hope to “build a novel.”
Build strong!
Smart writers will take the time to learn how to structure strong pillars that will hold up their novels. This new comprehensive writing craft book clearly lays out just how to build each essential pillar so it can carry the weight of your story. Without such foundational support, collapse is inevitable. There are 12 key pillars of novel construction, and if any of these pillars is weak, made of faulty materials, it will compromise the integrity of your novel.
Build a novel that will stand up to scrutiny and thrill readers!
Inside, you’ll learn:
- what the four primary support pillars are, and why and how you need to build those first, before tackling any other components in your novel.
- how to determine if an idea has the potential to become a riveting concept with a kicker, and how to transform that idea into a stunning concept.
- what high stakes is really all about and how to ensure your novel is exploding with them.
- the secret to creating a riveting protagonist, and the two goals he needs to be pursuing.
- what tension really is and how to ramp it up in your novel.
- the key to portraying evocative settings and how to come up with them.
- 7 important tips to creating believable dialog.
- what voice is, and how it differs from writing style.
- ways to brainstorm ideas for plot, themes, motifs, setting, and rich characters through asking a series of questions that will take you deep below the surface of your story.
- what the difference is between theme and motif, and why both are essential.
- Ideas and instructions on how to mind map your characters, plot, settings, themes—all the important elements of your story—and integrate them into your 12 pillars.
In addition, you’ll get 12 comprehensive “inspection checklists,” each with 12 sets of deep, thought-provoking questions meant to ensure your pillars are truly strong enough to hold the weight of your story. You need to pass every inspection!
Don’t waste time trying to guess at novel structure. By using this concise, detailed blueprint, you can be sure you’ll end up with a terrific novel—every time!
Now in paperback--The 12 Key Pillars Workbook!Be sure to order yours on Amazon so you can build your novel step by step!
The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction is part of The Writer's Toolbox Series of writing craft books for novelists. Be sure to get all of the books so you'll have your toolbox filled to the brim with the tools you need to write novels that readers will rave about!
"In the same way an uninsulated house lacks warmth, an unstructured novel will leave your reader cold. Lakin offers novelists the necessary tools to construct a story that will keep readers turning the pages until the end. The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction is concise, intelligent, and a fantastic resource for writers! --Ginny L. Yttrup, award-winning author of Words and Invisible.
The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin - Amazon Sales Rank: #164425 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-03-01
- Released on: 2015-03-01
- Format: Kindle eBook
The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin Review "A great read, from a great teacher. I both learned a few new things and got clarification on things I thought I knew. I recommend this book and, really, any writing book by C.S. Lakin. You WILL learn something, most likely quite a lot of somethings, about writing that you didn't know before. Get your pillars set right, and with hard work and determination, you'll be well on your way to being a great author." "I have read and studied a lot of books about novel writing and this is one of the best. Ms. Lakin breaks down the elements needed to tell a good story and she also describes how these pieces interact." "Lakin writes in a conversational tone as an antidote to the manuals that are devoid of a writer's voice. So The 12 Pillars at times doesn't resemble a how-to book at all. More of a construction site lunch-break conversation about temple-building. I wish I was in that construction trailer with her. I'd learn lots." "in short, the book is brilliant. This is the perfect guide for those of us who actually put backside-on-chair on a regular basis, and who therefore have no illusions about the amount of work and commitment involved in getting that novel finished. This book provides completely clear, practical guidance on how to build up a solid novel."
From the Author Since there are hundreds of writing craft books already published that teach novel structure, why in the world would I write one to add to the pile? Good question, and I'll give you my answer. I wrote this book (which is a compilation, and much more, of a year-long course I did on my blog Live Write Thrive) because I want to help writers get a clear, helpful, and precise understanding of basic novel construction. I critique and edit more than two hundred partial and complete manuscripts a year. Year after year, I see struggling writers making the same fatal mistakes in their manuscripts. Even those writers who have studied the best novel-writing instruction books, have followed writers' blogs, and have taken numerous workshops still don't get the structure.Truth is, a lot of writers believe they can write a novel without taking time to learn the nuts and bolts of novel construction. I wonder why this is. I doubt many aspiring doctors, dentists, or lawyers believe they can jump into their practice by just reading a few books, or maybe even watching some TV shows. I certainly wouldn't want to learn that my surgeon hadn't graduated medical school or memorized Gray's Anatomy as I was being wheeled on a gurney into the operating arena. Writing a novel may not be as complex as performing an operation on someone, but it does have its complexities. Just as with building a house--which is what we are going to compare novel writing to in this book--writers have to adeptly wield not only a whole lot of materials but a lot of tools as well. For every task required in building a house, a builder must know both his materials and his tools. You don't frame up a house with tar paper, and you don't use plastic pipe for gas lines. It takes time and effort to acquire the proper training to be proficient in any vocation. Novel writing is no exception.
From the Back Cover Build smart! Over and over, struggling writers make the same fatal mistakes in their manuscripts. Even writers who have studied all the best writing craft books and taken workshops and followed writers' blogs still don't get the structure. Truth is, a lot of writers believe they can write a novel without taking time to learn the nuts and bolts of novel construction. Just as with building a house, writers need to adeptly wield the proper tools and materials, and follow structurally sound rules if they hope to "build a novel." Build strong! Smart writers will take the time to learn how to structure strong pillars that will hold up their novels. This new comprehensive writing craft book clearly lays out just how to build each essential pillar so it can carry the weight of your story. Without such foundational support, collapse is inevitable. There are 12 key pillars of novel construction, and if any of these pillars is weak, made of faulty materials, it will compromise the integrity of your novel. Build a novel that will stand up to scrutiny and thrill readers!
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Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful. Useful, very easy to understand, more examples please! By Happyme I have read CSLakin's blog from time to time, so I was interested to review this book when offered the chance to do so.She emphasizes from the beginning that structuring a novel is crucial. She does not advocate letting the story tell itself (not in the strict sense). Instead, she uses a four-pillar foundation to fashion your idea into a full-length novel. The four basic pillars cannot crumble if they are built/planned right, and she uses the analogy of building a home to illustrate this.I have read other books similar to this, but the content in this book is easy to understand, and I can see myself returning to this book for reference.At times, I thought she was a little wordy, but then, she does explain well her points. She gives you a lot to work with, so I think there's something for everybody. I enjoy very much the examples of books and movies she uses to illustrate what she is teaching. Actually, I would like more examples. Show, don't tell, right? Yes, would love a lot more examples.She provides very useful checklists:(The first four constitute her first four pillars, the foundation, the first step to structuring your novel)Concept With A KickerProtagonist With A GoalConflict With High StakesTheme With A HeartPlots and Subplots In A String of ScenesSecondary Characters With Their Own NeedsSetting With A PurposeTension Ramped To The MaxDialog Compressed and EssentialVoice -Unique for Each CharactersWriting Style – Concise and SpecificMotifs for Cohesion and DepthScene Structure Checklist – I LOVE THIS A LOT, A LOT!!!She explains the difference between voice and writing style. Her novels are character-driven. Voice comes from the character – like an actor getting into character. Imagine your whole being as your protagonist (a spoiled and rich girl etc.) and write from inside her, how she behaves, how her values shape the things she says and does. She disagrees with Donald Maass regarding writing style. Voice comes from the character, not you, the author. Writing style is how you write as an author, stringing words together, piecing information into sentences. Actually, I already know this, although I forget and intrude upon the character when writing “through” her/him. But reading it the way she explains helps a lot. Even some famous writers have very generic “voice” and I think, almost formulaic. Again, I wish she had given more examples, because voice is so crucial.Writers would know about tension. She goes into microtension. Deftly handled. More examples from books would be appreciated.Then, there's weasel words. She goes into this briefly. These words are a no-no for any good story that wants to keep a reader reading. “There are”, “started to”, etc. Surprisingly, I still read this in some novels. Hmmm, writing style, perhaps? Well, I don't care for that style, although sometimes, it's more forgiving because of the kind of story.The book is a complete guide to structuring your novel. At one point, I did wonder how many times she would use the word “liken”. In the end, not many.I think this book speaks for what it is trying to teach. It is very well-constructed. More examples would help tremendously besides paragraphs of explanations.I find the book very useful for crafting short stories too.I was given this book to review, in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion, and I'm glad I took up the offer from CS Lakin. I enjoyed reviewing the book, and in the process, learned from it. Yes, I would recommend this book and give it a solid 4 stars, probably deserving 5, but I really wished there were more examples of the very good points made.Thank you for a very useful book.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Lacks examples, so most of the discussion is unclear and conceptual. By ADR I have a lot of how-to write books. There are many great ones out there, but unfortunately this is not on the top of the list. There are some gems in the book. I love the checklists. I usually cross-reference examples back to where the concept was discussed. In this book, there are only 2 sections with examples (incidentally pages 25-29, and 93-95). If a book is really good and invaluable, I have so many flags and highlighting it looks like a coloring book. I only flagged the checklists.There is a lack of examples, either from popular books/movies, or made up on the spot. For example: Page 38 has a section "a great novel is not just a string of events." It starts out saying you need a goal. The next paragraph says "Does there really have to be a point?" and then goes on to say yes, you need a point, and if you have a great idea without a goal, the author would love to hear it. The section ends with "Ask yourself about your favorite novel or two. What did the hero/heroin want?" The section ends. The next section begins with "So, now that you understand your story needs a goal......" When did we understand that? It was not illustrated with examples of stories with great goals, and how awful they would be if you removed the goal.Each section is only 4-5 paragraphs and lacks examples and substance. In one of the only two sections with examples, there are some "examples" of one-sentence story concepts from popular movies. The sentence preceding these 5 examples says "note how these ......contain the four elements." The one sentence summaries are then listed (which we could get from IMDB ourselves), but without much follow up discussion. One even says, after the one sentence summary, "no need to comment on the unique setting ....or high stakes." Really? Apparently it's obvious? Isn't it your job as an author/teacher to point all of this out? Not only this, but the four pillars/elements are not pointed out. Granted, they shouldn't be too hard to find, but that is because I have read 50 other how-to books and learned from them.I'd love to see a new version published with added examples from novels, or just made up examples to illustrate the points. Without examples, it's all just conceptual. I am sure that this author has good ideas, as the checklists seem to be very good. I know it's hard to teach something that is so integrated into your thought process that you don't know how much to say about everything, or you assume that a lot of things are just obvious. I would not recommend spending money on this to anyone. Not to mention that it of course says "go buy the $14 workbook to go with this," which is just the checklists spread out over many pages with blank lines under them.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Spit it out By M. Morris This is so wordy. I was flipping pages like crazy thinking, "You're still talking about that?" "Get to it already!" A huge chunk of words could be cut out of this. There are pages and pages about not wasting time. And so, so many pages about building a house. I think a huge portion of the 5-star reviews were given by people who were provided a free copy. The meat of the book doesn't show up until 10% in, and it's watered down with tons of extra wording. The material is probably good but I couldn't trudge through it.
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The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
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The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story (The Writer's Toolbox Series), by C. S. Lakin
