Decided to re-open this thread, because I just finished reading the late, great Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK!
Yes, strictly speaking it's for screen writers. And yes, half of this volume is devoted to business how-tos specific to screen writers.
But the first half is all about how to write, or more precisely how to structure, any good story.
If you've read Snyder's first book, SAVE THE CAT, this book goes deeper, more precisely, and more clearly into the beat sheet. For example, he breaks the "Finale" beat into a 5-step structure that any story can follow. He offers a 50-question check list that will keep you honest when starting your revision. He shows you exactly how to break the 15-beat structure into 40 essential scenes. And lots more.
If you've never read SAVE THE CAT, I recommend both books, especially if the common novel structure outline (with terms like rising action, turning point, climax, and resolution) has always seemed too vague to be really helpful. (It always felt that way to me). Snyder precisely names and defines the structural elements (using descriptive terms like "Set Up," "Fun and Games," "Bad Guys Close In," and "Dark Night of the Soul"). He also teaches the essentials of loglines, genres, elevator pitches, titles, and synopses--specific to movies, yes, but totally useful for children's novels, I promise.
(Book 2 in his series, SAVE THE CAT GOES TO THE MOVIES, is helpful in a different way. Snyder breaks down dozens of major motion pictures according to his beat sheet. In other words, book 2 teaches analysis. Now, when I read a novel that "works," I can quickly figure out why it does.)
