goodies

It’s a Giveaway + Get 25% off!

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It's a Christmas Giveaway!

It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, and to get into the spirit of things, I’m hosting a giveaway! PLUS I’m giving every new mailing list subscriber 25% off any purchase in my store! What am I giving away? That’s a great question. Each week from now until Santa makes his midnight run, I’m … Read more

Blake Synder's Beat Sheet, with template

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Cover of Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
If you want to understand how the beat sheet works, check out this book.

Best for those outling a new work.

What’s awesome about it

  • The word count for each beat

What’s not-so-awesome

  • It’s daunting, especially when your manuscript is half-written
  • No capacity to outline subplots

The awesome

When I first came across Blake Synder’s Beat Sheet (BS2), I was half-way through the manuscript for Hero and the word count for each beat made me to blanch. The idea of trying to shoehorn my (at that point in time) pantsed story into all of those little boxes (opening image, catalyst, black moment) with their prescribed word counts, was more than my brain could take, but when I went back to the BS2, a new story in mind, they appeared as godsends. 

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5 more Scrivener templates

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Screenshot of open Scrivener template showing the new template sheets.
5 new Scrivener template sheets for your enjoyment.

I might have previously mentioned that I love templates, and you might ask why. I love them because they make world-building easier, not in a ‘this is how things must be done’ way, but in a ‘here’s some questions to get you started’ way.

Sometimes, when I’m in the thick of creating a story, or the world it’s going to be set in, I have an idea for a something (generally a plant, animal, person or thing). This something often plays an important role in my developing plot (or world), and while I may know a few details, such as its name and function, the nitty-gritty can elude me. 

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