Structure and creativity can co-exist

There are those writers who balk at the very idea of outlining a work of fiction. They feel that structure and creativity cannot co-exist peacefully.  Then there are those writers who fall on the other end of the spectrum. They believe in formulaic structure and are passionate about the rigidity of these frameworks. I prefer to walk a middle line down these two paths of thought, and Weiland shows how easily this balance between structure and creativity can be achieved.

In simple terms, Weiland provides a framework that has proven success, with easy references to a variety of genres and classics for practical examples. Weiland starts with the bigger picture of dissecting the novel as a complete whole, and then delves deeper into the scene and the sequel, and finally, into the basics of sentence construction. There are checklists and questions to keep writers on track and some wonderful creative suggestions to assist with driving stories forward, while ensuring that they remain on track.

As writers, we need to keep honing and improving our crafts. This is one tool that should be in every writer’s toolbox.