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Making Story: Twenty-One Writers on How They Plot
It's often said that everyone has a book inside him or her -- but how do you plot it? In MAKING STORY, edited by the Edgar- and Macavity-nominated author Timothy Hallinan, twenty-one novelists--who have written more than 100 books among them and sold hundreds of thousands of copies--talk about how they go about turning an idea into a plot, and a plot into a book. MAKING STORY offers practical, experience-based advice from people who have repeatedly sat down to write a good book and succeeded in doing just that. The writers who will help you to create your story are Michael Stanley, Kelli Stanley, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Jeffrey Siger, Zoe Sharp, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Mike Orenduff, Debbi Mack, Wendy Hornsby, Gar Anthony Haywood, Timothy Hallinan, Leighton Gage, Jeremy Duns, Bill Crider, Meredith Cole, Jeffrey Cohen, Rebecca Cantrell, Rachel Brady, Lisa Brackmann, Cara Black, and Brett Battles. This is an indispensable book for aspiring authors and the first in a series, each focusing on a different writing challenge.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 4, 2012
12 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Hallinan
44 books448 followersI'm a thriller and mystery novelist with 22 published books in three series, all with major imprints. I divides my time between Los Angeles and Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand, where I've lived off and on for more than twenty years. As of now, My primary home is in Santa Monica, California.
I currently write two series, The Poke Rafferty Bangkok Thrillers, most recently FOOLS' RIVER, and the Junior Bender Mysteries, set in Los Angeles, Coming up this November is NIGHTTOWN. The main character of those books is a burglar who works as a private eye for crooks.
The first series I ever wrote featured an overeducated private eye named Simeon Grist. in 2017 I wrote PULPED, the first book in the series to be self-published, which was actually a lot of fun. I might do more of it.
I've been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the Shamus, and the Left, and won the Lefty in 2015 (?) for the Junior Bender book HERBIE'S GAME. My work has frequently been included in Best Books of the Year roundups by major publications.
I currently write two series, The Poke Rafferty Bangkok Thrillers, most recently FOOLS' RIVER, and the Junior Bender Mysteries, set in Los Angeles, Coming up this November is NIGHTTOWN. The main character of those books is a burglar who works as a private eye for crooks.
The first series I ever wrote featured an overeducated private eye named Simeon Grist. in 2017 I wrote PULPED, the first book in the series to be self-published, which was actually a lot of fun. I might do more of it.
I've been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the Shamus, and the Left, and won the Lefty in 2015 (?) for the Junior Bender book HERBIE'S GAME. My work has frequently been included in Best Books of the Year roundups by major publications.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2018
October 2018: I've reread this in preparation for this year's NaNoWriMo.
Making Story is not a how-to writing book. Instead, it's like sitting in a cozy coffee shop and having a casual talk with your friendly mystery writer you've probably never heard of. (The only one out of the twenty-one writers interviewed here that I've read so far is Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. I'm a sucker for Scandinavian noir, but most of the writers in this book seemed more US/UK based and I don't think I've ever seen their books in my country's bookstores.)
The central question of Making Story is Are you a plotter or a pantser? Most of the writers seemed to fall somewhere in between, having more of a roadmap and a collection of scribbled notes, random research and plausible ideas that they based their stories on. Those that came from screenwriting were more inclined to outline and use three of five act structures. There were plenty of pantsers too (which surprised me), but almost all admitted to getting stuck somewhere in the middle of the book and having to do massive rewrites!
Anyhow, the bottom line was that whatever method works for you is fine and won't probably work for anyone else. No one can really tell if a book was plotted or pantsed once it's published.
As for me, I also fall somewhere in between. I'm a plantser. I used to be quite reluctant to use an outline for my first draft, which did cause me years and years of painful re-writing, based on the outline that resulted when transitioning to my second draft. Now I have an approach which involves thinking in terms of characters, their development, their learning curve and the relationship between them. Some of it is inspired by Truby's Anatomy of story. A few of the writers in this book also seemed to use a similar approach, which was reassuring.
Anyhow, if you're looking for a manual on how to plot, then this book is not for you. If you are, however, interested in the intricacies of writing and curious to find out about other methods, or if you want to write a mystery novel, then I recommend it.
Making Story is not a how-to writing book. Instead, it's like sitting in a cozy coffee shop and having a casual talk with your friendly mystery writer you've probably never heard of. (The only one out of the twenty-one writers interviewed here that I've read so far is Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. I'm a sucker for Scandinavian noir, but most of the writers in this book seemed more US/UK based and I don't think I've ever seen their books in my country's bookstores.)
The central question of Making Story is Are you a plotter or a pantser? Most of the writers seemed to fall somewhere in between, having more of a roadmap and a collection of scribbled notes, random research and plausible ideas that they based their stories on. Those that came from screenwriting were more inclined to outline and use three of five act structures. There were plenty of pantsers too (which surprised me), but almost all admitted to getting stuck somewhere in the middle of the book and having to do massive rewrites!
Anyhow, the bottom line was that whatever method works for you is fine and won't probably work for anyone else. No one can really tell if a book was plotted or pantsed once it's published.
As for me, I also fall somewhere in between. I'm a plantser. I used to be quite reluctant to use an outline for my first draft, which did cause me years and years of painful re-writing, based on the outline that resulted when transitioning to my second draft. Now I have an approach which involves thinking in terms of characters, their development, their learning curve and the relationship between them. Some of it is inspired by Truby's Anatomy of story. A few of the writers in this book also seemed to use a similar approach, which was reassuring.
Anyhow, if you're looking for a manual on how to plot, then this book is not for you. If you are, however, interested in the intricacies of writing and curious to find out about other methods, or if you want to write a mystery novel, then I recommend it.
March 4, 2024
Read this book as I am a fan of several of the authors--
Bill Cryder, Yrsa from Iceland, others.
Book has many good tips--some are pantsers, some
are plotters, some are in-between.
Interesting how some write 1000 words a day,
some more, but they all agree that you have to
read read read, write write write.
Enjoyed all the author's perspectives.
Bill Cryder, Yrsa from Iceland, others.
Book has many good tips--some are pantsers, some
are plotters, some are in-between.
Interesting how some write 1000 words a day,
some more, but they all agree that you have to
read read read, write write write.
Enjoyed all the author's perspectives.
March 12, 2019
It was okay, and you can argue that advice is advice but every author wrote in the same genre which made it all very one note.
January 16, 2013
A great resource for folks interested in writing fiction, and also great for those who like to read mysteries and thrillers, because you get to read how 21 different authors go about creating their stories, whether and how they plot or write by the seat of their pants, and you also get to read an excerpt from one of their stories. So it's a nice introduction to 21 different authors as well as learning how they write.
May 18, 2013
I have sincerely enjoyed reading this book from some of my favorite Authors. Some I even call friends, had drinks or dinner with and overall enjoy their company, I am fascinated by their writing methods, regardless of what you want to call it. It's great for getting a glimpse into each Author's unique and personal writing style and taking away some very useful ideas. It's also an interesting way to be introduced to a new writer.
July 18, 2013
This was a fairly interesting read. It was, more than anything, encouragement and a reminder that everyone's creative process is different. You have to trust your process.
July 22, 2013
I'm only read BRETT BATTLES' THE ASSIGNMENT. I've been following the jonathan quinn series which involves a character named Orlando. Orlando is a character in the jonathan quinn series.
March 18, 2016
Books on the craft written as narratives don't work for me. I need bullet points, headings, text-book formatting so I can learn from it.
January 29, 2019
What you should know:
The book format is this:
1. A brief intro to each author.
2. A brief piece by each author on "how they plot"*
3. A brief excerpt from one of the author's books.
4. An "about the author" followup with links to their books and or website.
This repeats until about the 86% mark at which point the remainder of the book is a sort of round table in which the authors chime in with responses to 8 questions posed by early readers of the previous portion.
All the authors are Mystery/Suspense/Thriller type authors.
While the title of the book implies the focus is on the "how they plot" sections, the other sections, taken together, definitely take up more of the overall word count. This has the effect of making the book come off more as a kind of promotional sampler with a little bonus content tossed in to lure in the writing guide market. The fact that all the writers write within the same or related genres enhances that promotional feel. Had I not gotten this on a free day, I'd feel pretty cheated.
Now, even ignoring the whole promotional sampler aspect, I have some other complaints. Now, I'm a born outliner, so I am a bit biased, but here's the thing. The question is supposed to be "how do you plot?". A lot of these writers are pantsers. I admit pantsers have written some damn fine books, but I fail to see the point in asking a bunch of pantsers "how do you plot" when their answer basically boils down to, "I don't." [Note that there were a few self-proclaimed pantsers here who describe a process that I would say is very much NOT pantsing, but whatever.] Regardless, in those cases where the "how they plot" section is actually somewhat interesting, it's generally still too short to be satisfying.
On the plus side, I've actually heard of a number of these authors, which is decided not the norm with authors putting out writing advice books, and I did add an book or two to my to-read list, so as a promotional tool, it's not a failure.
The book format is this:
1. A brief intro to each author.
2. A brief piece by each author on "how they plot"*
3. A brief excerpt from one of the author's books.
4. An "about the author" followup with links to their books and or website.
This repeats until about the 86% mark at which point the remainder of the book is a sort of round table in which the authors chime in with responses to 8 questions posed by early readers of the previous portion.
All the authors are Mystery/Suspense/Thriller type authors.
While the title of the book implies the focus is on the "how they plot" sections, the other sections, taken together, definitely take up more of the overall word count. This has the effect of making the book come off more as a kind of promotional sampler with a little bonus content tossed in to lure in the writing guide market. The fact that all the writers write within the same or related genres enhances that promotional feel. Had I not gotten this on a free day, I'd feel pretty cheated.
Now, even ignoring the whole promotional sampler aspect, I have some other complaints. Now, I'm a born outliner, so I am a bit biased, but here's the thing. The question is supposed to be "how do you plot?". A lot of these writers are pantsers. I admit pantsers have written some damn fine books, but I fail to see the point in asking a bunch of pantsers "how do you plot" when their answer basically boils down to, "I don't." [Note that there were a few self-proclaimed pantsers here who describe a process that I would say is very much NOT pantsing, but whatever.] Regardless, in those cases where the "how they plot" section is actually somewhat interesting, it's generally still too short to be satisfying.
On the plus side, I've actually heard of a number of these authors, which is decided not the norm with authors putting out writing advice books, and I did add an book or two to my to-read list, so as a promotional tool, it's not a failure.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews