Cow Pasture Chronicles : Anatomy of a Best-Selling Story

Sheila:

I’m between one of those “by the seat of my pants writers” and a plotter. This is an excellent reminder. No matter what you’re building, foundation and structure matters. Thanks for another great post.

Originally posted on Kristen Lamb's Blog:

Structure Matters

Writers must understand structure if they hope to be successful. Yes, it might take five years to finish the first novel, but if we land a three book deal, we don’t have 15 years to turn in our books. Also, in the new paradigm of publishing, writers who produce more content have greater odds of making money at this writing thing.

Understanding structure helps us become faster, cleaner, better writers. Structure is essential to all stories, from screenplays to novels to epic space operas.

Plotters tend to do better with structure, but even pantsers (those writers who write by the seat of their pants) NEED to understand structure or revisions will be HELL. Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly as glamorous as creating characters or reading about ways to unleash our creative energy.