Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook

Advice on building a work of fiction, from “a writer of great daring and skill to match” (Newsweek).

From a highly acclaimed author who has spent many years teaching the craft of fiction writing, Architecture of the Novel is an ambitious blueprint for writers, one that reveals the underlying machinery that propels a plot that is dynamic, coherent, and interesting.

Her method points to the elemental nature of narrative: A story consists of its events, which are told in scenes. These scenes naturally place themselves along the arc of the story in an order that provides suspense and mystery, drawing characters toward the inevitability of their fictive destinies.

Profoundly practical and encouraging to writers at all levels, and with a foreword by Anne Lamott, Architecture of the Novel offers the maps and mechanics to successfully guide writers toward the story they must tell.