The Anatomy of Story - 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. This book comes to the rescue by highlighting 75 emotions and listing the possible body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for each. 

Using its easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment. The Emotion Thesaurus also tackles common emotion-related writing problems and provides methods to overcome them. 
This writing tool encourages authors to show, not tell emotion and is a creative brainstorming resource for any fiction project.

Write Scenes that Move Your Story Forward

In Make a Scene, author Jordan E. Rosenfeld takes you through the fundamentals of strong scene construction and explains how other essential fiction-writing techniques, such as character, plot, and dramatic tension, must function within the framework of individual scenes in order to provide substance and structure to the overall story. You'll learn how to:

• Craft an opening scene that hooks readers and foreshadows supporting scenes
• Develop various scene types - from the suspenseful to the dramatic to the contemplative - that are distinct and layered
• Tailor character and plot around specific scene types to better convey the nuances of your storyline
• Create resonating climactic and final scenes that stay with readers long after they've finished your work

In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

What makes a good story or a screenplay great?

The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding where to begin. Some labor their entire lives without ever learning that successful stories are as dependent upon good engineering as they are artistry. But the truth is, unless you are master of the form, function and criteria of successful storytelling, sitting down and pounding out a first draft without planning is an ineffective way to begin.

Story Engineering starts with the criteria and the architecture of storytelling, the engineering and design of a story--and uses it as the basis for narrative. The greatest potential of any story is found in the way six specific aspects of storytelling combine and empower each other on the page. When rendered artfully, they become a sum in excess of their parts.

You'll learn to wrap your head around the big pictures of storytelling at a professional level through a new approach that shows how to combine these six core competencies which include:

• Four elemental competencies of concept, character, theme, and story structure (plot)
• Two executional competencies of scene construction and writing voice

• Help you choose the right type of outline for you
• Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas
• Aid you in discovering your characters
• Show you how to structure your scenes
• Explain how to format your finished outline
• Instruct you in how to use your outline
• Reveal the benefits
• Dispel misconceptions

• Can you describe your outlining process?
• What is the greatest benefit of outlining?
• What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?
• Do you recommend "pantsing" for certain situations and outlining for others?
• What's the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

Ramp up the tension and keep your readers hooked! Inside you'll find everything you need to know to spice up your story, move your plot forward, and keep your readers turning pages. Expert thriller author and writing instructor James Scott Bell shows you how to craft scenes, create characters, and develop storylines that harness conflict and suspense to carry your story from the first word to the last.

Learn from examples of successful novels and movies as you transform your work from ho-hum to high-tension.

• Pack the beginning, middle, and end of your book with the right amount of conflict.
• Tap into the suspenseful power of each character's inner conflict.
• Build conflict into your story's point of view.
• Balance subplots, flashbacks, and backstory to keep your story moving forward.
• Maximize the tension in your characters' dialogue.
• Amp up the suspense when you revise.