14 Steps to Help You FINALLY Write Your Book - Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash

Have you ever wanted to write a book of your own?

Perhaps you’ve actually tried before, and failed.

More often than you care to admit.

You’ve gotten rabbit trailed, lost motivation, gotten hopelessly tangled up in plot threads that refused to be resolved…and never finished your story.

Well, Jennie Nash is here to save you from yourself 😉

As a writing coach, she’s condensed years of experience into a Book Blueprint consisting of 14 clear steps to help you get from story ideation, through the writing and revising process, until you have a complete, coherent novel you can be proud of…

All you have to do is follow the steps, and you just might surprise yourself.

In other words, this book will:

• Show you how to get at the heart of your story so that your finished product is cohesive.
• Give you a powerful tool you can use to plan, write, AND edit your story.
• Provide clear examples of each of the 14 steps in the Blueprint so you know EXACTLY what you need to do.

Who this book is for: Aspiring novelists, writers, and storytellers who are new to the craft, or have tried and failed more times than they like to admit. Especially those who tend to “write by the seat of their pants” and have found that that method does not work for them.

Scylighter rating: 4.7/6 ⭐s (explanation of ratings at the end)

In this article, I’m going to deep dive into the book’s content, not only looking at the ideas themselves, but (in order to help you become a more brilliant writer) also checking out:

Ready to get started?

Best Ideas From This Book

1. Builders don’t build houses without a detailed blueprint because houses are way too complicated and expensive. But the same is true for novels (complex & expensive in terms of time and energy spent writing), so why don’t writers use blueprints of their own?
2. The Point of your story is supposed to be a cliche. But it’s the execution of your story that makes it unique.
3. Don’t just jump in to the writing. Take your time to flesh out the deeper levels of your story BEFORE you draft your story, and it will be all the better for it in the end.

Join our merry band of Brilliant Writers for more book dives like this!

BOOK NOTES

Introduction

In This Chapter

• Who the author is and why she’s writing this book.
• How writing is like building a house.

Book coach (and author of this book) Jennie Nash starts by saying instead of charging head-on into your novel project, first, answer the 14 Questions in her Blueprint. It will slow you down in the beginning, but pay off massively in the end.

As a book coach, Nash “give[s] writers the editorial feedback, emotional support, and project-management framework.” And in her experience, writers often get discouraged when they work, and one way to counter that is to take time to understand your story before you write it.

Not that doing this will completely crush ALL potential negative feelings, but it helps:

“Writing a novel is a complex intellectual and creative undertaking.”

The goal of this book and its Blueprint is to guide readers “through the most challenging parts of writing a novel all at one time before you start to write (or revise).”

It will make the process more efficient. Nash compares writing a book to building a house. No one gets builders to make a house without a clear architectural blueprint, because building a house is way to complicated and expensive to “leave anything to chance.”

“The same thing is true of writing a novel, but for some reason, many writers are reluctant to embrace that idea.”

Why? Because many writers have “bought into the image of the creative genius…lit by divine inspiration.”

But “unless you’re enormously lucky or wildly talented” the seat-of-your-pants method won’t work, Nash says.

“If you plow ahead without understanding your story inside and out, you are setting yourself up for failure.”

So the goal is to turn you into the architect of your own book, beginning with a blueprint.

“You need to spend some time hammering out the foundation of your story, identifying the underlying logic of it, understanding your own emotional connection to it, and making fundamental decisions about shape and structure.”

Nash’s Blueprint for a Book system includes 14 foundational questions. In her work with authors, she writes that she spends 1–2 months going back and forth with her client before letting them go free to just write.

So, Nash’s advice is to really wrestle with these questions before you start writing. And also, you want to return to these questions repeatedly in an “iterative process.” It’s not linear, because “every step you take…has the potential to enrich and impact the earlier steps.”

The Blueprint isn’t chronological like “traditional plot-based outline.” Instead, it “traces the cause-and-effect engine of the story.”

And the chapter wraps up by saying you can download the Blueprint workbook at jennienash.com/blueprint.

Other

Opening: Whether you’re writing your first novel or your tenth, there is a temptation to sit down and pin it to the page before it disappears.

Closing: So settle in, bring an open mind, and let’s build a strong foundation for your story.

PART I: STORY FUNDAMENTALS

Blueprint Step #1: Why Write This Book?

In This Chapter

• The Pixar storytelling rule that correlates to this first step in the Blueprint.
• Why your personal “why” matters

Nash begins chapter one, and step one in the blueprint, with the famous Pixar storytelling rules shared by storyboard artist Emma Coats.

Specifically, Nash highlights Rule #14:

“Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of?”

Most writers have a story that’s “haunting” them, a story that “wants to be told.” But you want to figure out WHY.

Speaking of “why,” Nash gives a nod to Simon Sinek and his book, Start With Why. The main premise is that “people don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.”

(Side note: When I first read this book I was really impressed by his writing and the ideas in it. After many years have passed, I’m more conservative in my praise. I think how important your “why” is depends on what kind of work you do.

(If you’re an artist, a writer, someone who works in thought, creativity, entrepreneurship, etc., then yes, being able to articulate a clear and compelling vision will help you a lot. If you help make widgets, like in a factory, or something along those lines, it doesn’t matter. Toilet paper is toilet paper. Maybe the CEO has to think about this “why” business, but the rank-and-file do not.

(Also, I think our current system may be suffering from too many misguided ideologues who are trying so hard to do something “meaningful” that they’ve sacrificed truth in the process. So that’s a problem as well…

(But again, when it comes to storytelling, that definitely falls into the “creative” category, so the “why” question is more important.)

Nash argues that unless your story comes “from a deep conviction,” it “risks not resonating with the readers” (alliteration!)

If you don’t know your why, your story will just skim on the surface of things. It won’t resonate enough with people that strangers actually want to buy it.

In a 2002 speech at Bennington College, literary agent Ann Rittenberg said that writers who create characters that readers actually care about are “not afraid to access the deepest places in [themselves] and…share what [they] come up with.”

“I see plenty of writing that has kernels of good in it, but it’s hedged around with so much tentativeness or uncertainty or excess or stinginess, that it doesn’t allow the outsider — the reader — in.”

So now, it’s your turn:

Dig deep and write down why you MUST write your book. Do it on one page.

At this point, Nash points out that “asking why you must write this book is different from asking why you are writing a book or what you want from the experience.”

We’re not talking about the motivations of fame or legacy-leaving or proving yourself.

We’re talking about your underlying motivation for THIS particular story. “Because if you know why you care, your readers will get it, too.”

Other

Opening: In 2013, Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats wrote down the rules for storytelling she learned while working at the legendary animation studio.

Closing: Why do you want to write this specific book? Why do you care? Because if you know why you care, your readers will get it, too.

Blueprint Step #2: What’s Your Point?

In This Chapter

• The difference between Point and Theme.
• Why your book’s Point should be a cliche.

Okay, for step 2, Nash introduces the idea of your argument.

“Every book is, at heart, an argument for something — for a belief, a way of life, a vision of the future, a way to solve a problem…[or] lose your soul. The point is what the entire story drives to. It’s the thing your reader will come away from your book feeling.”

The key, Nash says, is to not be afraid if your Point sounds like a cliche. “When you can frame your idea as a cliche, it means you’re getting down to something universal that everyone understands.”

In other words, the Point is a universal cliche, but the way you make that point, through your unique voice, structure, etc., is what makes your story interesting.

The reason why Nash uses Point instead of Theme is because the concept of a theme is rather squishy, and besides, a book can have multiple themes. Case in point: Harry Potter is about friendship, teamwork, and more.

Also, Point is just “easier to understand and to articulate.” Theme is a bit esoteric, but people ask “what’s your point” in real life all the time.

Here, Nash gives a few examples of the Point in several famous novels:

• Harry Potter: Love triumphs over evil.
• Gone Girl: Love isn’t what it seems to be.
• Hunger Games: Love triumphs over evil. (Same as HP, but totally different story. “One point can lead to a thousand books”)

Now, your turn:

Write your Point in one line.

Other

Opening: Now that you’ve established why you care about this story, we can turn your focus to what point you want it to make.

Closing: What’s the point of your story? Write one line.

Blueprint Step #3: Write a Super Simple Version of Your Story

In This Chapter

• How to create a super-short summary of what your book’s about.
• What a “dumb narrative” is.

In step 3, you’re going to “write a very short and super simple description of your story in 2–4 sentences.”

The point is to focus on the basic elements of what happens to your main character.

For those in playwriting, Nash says, this is called the “dumb narrative.”

Here’s a tip: “Go back to your point and tie what happens directly into it.” Your Story should prove your Point.

Here, Nash gives a few examples. Here’s one:

POINT: Technology is evil.

STORY: In the future, a brilliant scientist tries to use a supercomputer to end world hunger and ends up starving billions instead.

The point of this step is to constrain your plot so that you don’t go too crazy with it just yet. Simplification allows you to keep your plot from “dominating” your story.

(Not entirely sure what that means yet…keep reading)

Other

Opening: Now that you know your point, I’d like you to write a very short and super simple description of your story.

Closing: If you are unable to come up with an answer to this question, come back later once you’ve done the work on character, and where the story stops and where it ends; the plot should become clearer.

Blueprint Step #4: Choose a Working Title

In This Chapter

• Why and how to come up with a working title for your story.
• Constraints you can use to boost your title-brainstorming creativity.

In this step, Nash recommends having a working title to guide you. A title is “very powerful when it comes to attracting readers” so start thinking about it now, in other words.

As an example, Nash cites a friend who writes women’s fiction, and came up with a novel whose one-liner goes like this: “A woman who has lost everything is hired to clear out the house of a woman who won’t let go of anything.”

The writer sent a list of potential titles to Nash and some other writer friends, and they ended up settling on Objects of My Affection.

Another example is KJ Dell’Antonia’s book, The Chicken Sisters, about two dueling proprietors of fried chicken restaurants…who also happen to be sisters.

(Side note: After I read this book, I discovered that The Chicken Sisters is now a movie on Hallmark TV — how about that?)

So now for your story~

Nash recommends brainstorming a list of 15 titles (more or less), but not to spend more than an hour on this, so you don’t go too crazy. She recommends increasing your creativity by giving yourself arbitrary constraints, such as coming up with a title that…

• Consists of only one word (Ex: Jaws)
• Describes the protagonist or main action (Ex: The Book Thief, The Hunger Games)
• Includes a number (Ex: Catch 22)
• Uses symbols/imagery (Ex: Charlotte’s Web)
• Uses an adjective and a noun (Ex: The Vanishing Half)

Another thing you can do is visualize wherever you imagine seeing your book one day — in a bookstore, on a bestseller list, etc., and think about what title you see or would like to see in your mind’s eye.

Other

Opening: Having a a working title for your project is an excellent way to make it seem real and to begin to give it form and shape.

Closing: What title do you see? That’s the title to go with. You can circle back to this as you continue with the Blueprint and deepen your understanding of your story.

Blueprint Step #5: Define Your Genre

In This Chapter

• The reason why genre-definition matters…
• …And why this is an early step in the blueprint.

The reason why knowing your genre is so important is because there are particular genre conventions your readers will be expecting, depending on how you present your story.

Nash recommends seeing “how other books similar to yours are described” and you can find these on Goodreads.

Nash warns that your genre may change later on, but that’s fine — that’s the point of working on a blueprint before you actually start writing your book.

Other

Opening: You probably already have a sense of the genre of your novel.

Closing: Changing your mind is fine — it is, in fact, the whole point of the Blueprint; it’s why we do all this work before you start to write.

Blueprint Step #6: Get to Know Your Ideal Reader

In This Chapter

• How to define your ideal reader (and why you should).
• What questions you should ask about your ideal reader.

For step 6, Nash writes that she understands why many writers “shy away” from thinking about their readers at this point, but “considering the reader helps ground both the book and the writer.”

Writing is supposed to be “fun and fulfilling” for you, of course, but if you’re serious about this book writing business, you also want your work to “impact actual future readers” which is why you need this mindset shift:

Think about your ideal reader.

And your ideal reader is NEVER “everyone.”

Even books with worldwide appeal, like Harry Potter have a specific audience in mind to start. In HP’s case, that would be school-aged children.

So even if you want everyone to love your story, “it helps to start out with a much smaller, narrowly defined group of readers who have certain needs and desires.”

Nash proposes a few questions you can ask about your ideal reader:

• What’s her age?
• Where does she live?
• How does she spend her time?
• What keeps her up at night?
• What does she want in an ideal book, and how does your book help her get it?

(I particularly like those last two points. The first one is very like something I learned from a nonfiction writing teacher.

(The point is that people are kept awake at night only by things they deeply care about — fears and worries, mostly, but also things people wonder about. So if you can touch on those deeply meaningful concerns and wonders, you’re leaps ahead of other writers)

Nash says the last three questions are the most important ones. Because, in the words of Pastor Orval C Butcher:

“The world is asking only one question: ‘Can you help me where I hurt?’”

And Nash points out that fiction “absolutely has the power to help people who are in all kinds of pain.”

Pain can range from boredom and loneliness to curiosity and discontent, and plenty of other things in between.

Next.

Another important question you want to know the answer to is:

What other books does your ideal reader love to read? (Consider books within and without your chosen genre).

Once you’ve answered that question, here are some follow-ups:

Why does she love these books?

And what will your book “add to the conversation”? (In other words, are you agreeing with what’s been said so far, or disagreeing? “where in the conversation does your book fit?”)

(At this point, Nash mentions a very wise tip…)

What do you want your ideal reader to say about your book after she’s finished it? In other words, imagine her talking to a friend about your book — what do you imagine her saying? Think about it from her perspective, using actual dialogue.

On the flip side, consider what she’d say if she absolutely HATED your book. It may feel uncomfortable, but facing the worst pre-emptively in your imagination can help you to avoid that dire future.

To wrap up this step, Nash gives an example of this process, using an imaginary novel about a new taco stand owner trying to survive COVID (you can really tell when this book was written/published, eh?)

Why is this whole “imagine your ideal reader” so important?

“By imagining a specific reader engaging with your book, you are envisioning the outcome of a project that is going to take a long time to complete. You are giving yourself a target to aim for that…has to do with the actual impact your book will make…and that can make all the difference.”

Other

Opening: Who is the reader who will eventually find your book on the shelf?

Closing: You are painting yourself a picture of success and holding that in your mind, and that can make all the difference.

Blueprint Step #7: Write Jacket Copy

In This Chapter

• Why it’s a good idea to think about your jacket copy before you’ve even written your story.
• What a jacket copy does for your reader.
• How to come up with your own jacket copy.

Now it’s time to work on your jacket copy. As Nash says:

“It may seem counterintuitive, but this is a great exercise that gets you out of your own head and into the mind of your reader.”

The point of jacket copy is to make a promise to your reader about what they can expect to find in your story.

And as you go through the rest of the Blueprint, you will revisit your jacket copy to make sure you are delivering on that promise.

Nash includes some ideas of what works and doesn’t work for jacket copy:

• What works: Snappy, enticing language, context of the book’s world (when and where), sense of conflict and stakes, why you are the right person to write this book (if you’re a vet writing about dog health, for example, or a historian writing a historical novel), approximately 250 words.
• What DOESN’T work: Vague language, lists of every plot point, full author bio, anything too long.

Study your favorite books’ jacket copy, Nash recommends. And then she breaks down a few jacket copies from bestselling books, with commentary.

Nash points out that different jacket copy examples include such elements as…

• A clever tagline
• What kicked off the story
• Something about who/where/conflict and context (why readers should care)
• What the protagonist does to cause tension, conflict, aka a story
• The point of the story and why readers should care

And that’s it for this step!

Other

Opening: We’re going to take that vision of your finished book one step further and write the jacket copy — the jazzy description of a book that we all read before we decide to buy it.

Closing: Aim for about 250 words as you draft your jacket copy, and don’t worry if it’s not perfect yet. The idea is simply to begin to see the finished product in your mind.

PART 2: DESIGN A STRUCTURE

In This Section

• Why structure matters (to your readers).
• Why plot events don’t really drive your story, and what does, instead.

In this intro to Part 2, Nash talks about the importance of structure. Because “whether they realize it or not, readers respond to structure” since “no one likes to listen to a rambling, directionless story…We get enough of those in our everyday life.”

(So true. I think human desire for structure is innate, and tied to our desire for security. Granted, some humans appreciate chaos more than others, but too much chaos means you no longer have a story)

Nash points out that stories aren’t so much driven by “what happens” in the book but how the “internal desires and struggles” of characters evolve as the story commences.

So her advice for this section is to “think about your character’s desires and motivations and the transformation she goes through” during the course of your story.

Because “the shape of the protagonist’s arc of change is an integral part of the shape of the overall story.”

Opening: Here’s where the analogy to architecture really kicks in.

Closing: We’ll start the discussion of structure with character, because the shape of the protagonist’s arc of change is an integral part of the shape of the overall story. After that, we’ll turn to questions about your storyteller, time, and finally the plot.

Blueprint Step #8: Who is Your Protagonist?

In This Chapter

• The 4 questions you need to know how to answer, regarding your protagonist.
• Where your novel’s real power lies.
• The two aspects of effective opposition in your story.

Nash begins step 8 by saying there are 4 key questions you need to answer, regarding your protagonist:

1. Whose story is this? — the answer is “whoever has the most at stake in the story” and must “face the force of opposition” designed specifically for him or her.
2. What does your protag want? (external) — “Readers care about a character when they…know why they are doing what they are doing, and…why they want what they want.”
3. What does your protag want? (internal) — “This is the beginning of inside/outside thinking. The external desire should be connected to an internal desire for change” AKA “Why does [the external desire] matter to them? What will happen if they don’t get it?”
4. What’s getting in your protag’s way? — As a writer, you choose the external issues that will “force the character to struggle with the internal elements. This is what makes a great story.” Without opposition that touches on internal stuff, stories are boring.

“A novel’s power lies in letting the reader get into someone else’s head…to learn from the choices they make and the consequences they suffer without leaving the comfort of our own house.”

Nash warns readers to generally have ONE protagonist. If you have more than one main character, treat each character as the protagonist, and then weave their stories together.

But if you’re beginning, better not to give yourself such a complicated structure right out of the gate 😉

At a UCLA Writer’s Program class that Nash taught (way to credential-drop, here…), she had a student who helped produce movies like Groundhog Day speak up (…more name/credential-dropping):

“The villain should be tailor-made to challenge the protagonist’s deepest desire.”

(…But very good writing advice)

Here, Nash gives some examples of external and internal forces of opposition. With the internal forces, she uses verbs such as “belief, desire, unwillingness, yearning” to describe things a character could be struggling with.

Nash ends this chapter with a few examples of internal and external forces of opposition from popular stories. One of these examples is from Toy Story:

“Woody wants his owner to play with him because he believes this is his true purpose in life, but Buzz Lightyear is getting more attention.”

And, fin. (For this step).

Other

Opening: There are four key questions you need to answer about your protagonist, starting with who is your protagonist?

Closing: Woody wants his owner to play with him because he believes this is his true purpose in life, but Buzz Lightyear is getting more attention. (Toy Story)

Blueprint Step #9: Who is Telling Your Tale?

In This Chapter

• The various kinds of perspectives your narrator can take.

When it comes to telling your story, you’ve got a few options:

• 1st person: “I”
• 2nd person: “you”
• 3rd person: “he/she”

Third person can be further subdivided into:

• Limited: Narrator closely follows protag and only sees what protag sees.
• Omniscient: Narrator sees and knows all that is going on in the story.

And what if you have multiple narrators? Well, multiple close third: Most common POV, allowing readers to “be deeply inside the heads of multiple characters in different scenes and locations.”

Nash also mentions “Multiple narrators/differing POVs,” but the way it’s described…I’m not really clear about how this is different from the previous, to be honest. Except that maybe the former involves multiple protags, and with the latter, the multiple narrators are not necessarily protags…

And that’s it for this step.

Other

Opening: The structure of your story is shaped by your protagonist, but it will also be shaped by your storyteller — your narrator.

Closing: There are, of course, exceptions to all the rules about narrators, and if you are itching to do something unusual or experimental with your narrative choice, do it — as long as you know why you are making the choice, you’re sure that it serves the story you want to tell, and you always consider the experience the reader will have in the story.

Blueprint Step #10: Two Questions About Time

In This Chapter

• Two aspects of time you need to decide on for your story.
• Why it’s important to know how much time your story takes.

This step jumps right in to the two numbered questions, no intro.

When it comes to time, you need to know two things:

1. Where does your narrator stand? Is the story present, ongoing? Or has it already taken place in the past? AKA — “what does the narrator know and when does she know it?”
2. What is the period of time that elapses? One day? A few weeks? Generations?

Knowing elapsed time “gives you a sense of the shape of a story” and “how the reader will actually experience the story.”

It’s a simple thing, Nash says, but “making it conscious” will make a big difference in helping you to see your story.

(I think this is true about a lot of things. We ignore and overlook a lot of aspects of story — and not just story, but this is true in multiple kinds of arts, crafts, creative endeavors, learning — that we can only improve if we make it conscious)

Other

Opening: 1. Where does your narrator stand in time?

Closing: It’s a simple question and usually a simple answer, but it’s amazing how making it conscious can help you better see your story.

Blueprint Step #11: Where Does the Story Start and Where Does It End?

In This Chapter

• TK

Now we are starting to get more into the nitty-gritty of storytelling as Nash defines a scene:

“A scene is the smallest unit of a story, because it contains its own story structure: it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and an arc of change.”

(Interesting. Methinks I spot a little bit of Snowflake Method thinking here. Fractal thinking, in other words.

(It’s an interesting concept…I’ve also read of other storytellers who have slightly different definitions of scenes, but I think Nash’s works. It’s much clearer and makes sense.)

Another way to determine what is a scene is that “a scene generally happens in one location” think of it as something that takes place on a stage:

When the characters walk offstage, or a new character walks on, that usually marks the end of a scene and the start of another.

Good scenes need to drive the narrative (and the reader) forward. On the flipside, bad/stagnant scenes “just sit there and don’t lead to anything,” and that is “fatal to your story.”

(This is a REALLY good point. In my years of being in writing groups, critiquing first drafts’ of other writers’ works, I’ve seen and written my fair share of highly verbose and indulgent…but stagnant scenes. This is an important concept to keep in mind for the revision process — cut all the stagnant scenes!)

But here comes the main reason why Nash talks about scenes and what they are in this step:

Because the opening and closing scenes of your book are “bookends for the protagonist’s arc of change” and are “intimately connected to each other — one can’t exist without the other.”

“[The intro and outtro scenes are] an inhale and an exhale. A call and a response. A problem and a resolution. Tying these two scenes together is the first step in creating narrative drive.”

Here, Nash cites a book called Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski, who argue that people need to “feel an emotion all the way though to the end” or else they “get stuck.”

It’s the same in a story, Nash says. You need a complete emotional cycle, an exhale for the inhale, a response for the call, to create a satisfying story. If your ending doesn’t resolve the problem you started with, you’ll leave your readers hanging.

So how do you nail the intro/outtro scenes?

Nash points writers back to the Point of the novel. Your Why. That informs the end of your book, which, in turn, affects the intro.

For example, if your book’s point is “‘tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all,” then you need to start with someone falling in love OR vowing never to fall in love.

This may sound simplistic, but “allow yourself to simplify,” as Nash says. you can add nuance/complexity later.

So. For this step, you need to answer 2 questions:

1. Where does your story start, EXACTLY? You should be able to see this in your mind’s eye.
2. Where does your story end, EXACTLY? Again, this needs to have a specific time and place and you have to be able to visualize it.

For the rest of this step, Nash brainstorms different opening/ending pairings for a theoretical story idea.

Just from the intro and outtro, you should be able to figure out the protag’s arc of change and sense of conflict. (Side note, not sure if this is important, but intro/outtro are not Nash’s terms, they’re my shorthand ;D)

For example:

• Intro: Dying author asks secretary to keep the sequel to author’s famous book a secret.
• Outtro: Secretary releases the secret.

And now, Nash shares a practical tip for coming up with your own intro/outtro pairings:

1. Get a kitchen timer, set it to 30 minutes, and write your intro scene. Don’t worry about fleshing it out fully. You just need a sketch.
2. Take a break.
3. Come back, reset your timer to 30 minutes, and write a totally different intro scene. Try a different starting location, narrator, or angle, for example.
4. Take a break.
5. Come back and do it again, with a totally different intro scene.
6. Review your 3 scenes and ask yourself which one resonates most with you.
7. At another time, do the same thing with your closings to connect with your favorite opening scene.

(I think using a timer is fine advice, but personally, one thing I would do is work backwards. Write the closing scenes first, and then the openings)

Other

Opening: Once you have a clear sense of your story present, you should now be able to define the exact scenes where your story starts and where it ends.

Closing: Now find another block of time and do the same thing for a closing scene that connects with your favorite opening scene.

Blueprint Step #12: The “Because of That” Story Summary

In This Chapter

• The two ways of gluing a story together. (One works, one doesn’t).
• A practical way to flesh out the Super Simple Summary you started in step 3.

Here, Nash reminds her readers that “story is about change: how people change over time as a result of the decisions they make and the actions they take.”

Just like in real life, your story world needs to have consequences for your protag’s actions and decisions.

Which is why the “because of that” concept is so important. This is an idea Nash picked up from other writers, including the South Park writers Parker and Stone (she recommends that writers google their names and look up their video talking about this topic).

In summary, there are two kinds of glue that hold plots together:

1. Because of that
2. And then this happened

The first is how great stories work. The second kills stories.

If you’ve ever heard a person rambling on some topic and wondered “what’s your point?” then they were likely telling an “and then this happened” story — just a list of unrelated things in a row.

And here, Nash cites another writing teacher who helped me a lot with my story writing skills — Lisa Cron. Turns out, Nash is Cron’s book coach. (Well, how about that? Verrry interesting…)

Cron calls the “Because of that” concept the “cause-and-effect trajectory.”

And also, Nash brings back the Pixar storytelling rules, #4, which puts this trajectory in other words:

• Once upon a time there was…(“A story is about a person at a particular point in time who wants something they can’t easily get, and who is willing to go through fire to get it. So what is your protagonist before the story even starts — before they begin the transformation that the story is going to trace?”)
• Every day…(Your story has a critical change at its center. And remember that the change that matters most is “the one that goes on inside your character”)
• One day…(See above)
• Because of that…(Your protag has to decide how to respond to stuff, and that response depends on his desires, opposition, and will. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction” so think about consequences)
• Because of that…(Every subsequent action should raise the stakes. “The basic equation for [the story] is action, reaction, decision — all the way from beginning to end.” And don’t forget what does all of this MEAN to your protag? Think of the power of dominoes falling.)
• Until finally…(This is the resolution, the end of the arc of change. Readers want to arrive somewhere, to understand something clearly in a way that it’s often hard to do in real life)
• And ever since that day…(This step is all about “what it all meant to the protag, what the point of your story is, how the change mattered.” For example “Ever since that day, she believed in the power of love…paid for his crimes…etc.”)

Nash quotes Cron:

“Life doesn’t give us do-overs. The ‘do-before’ of a story is the next best thing”

Using the “because of that” method of constructing your story means you can’t have random coincidences stuffed into your book.

Nash advises that you start by creating a 10-event “because of that” story. (You can subdivide those 10 events into more sub-events, later).

These 10 (or fewer) events are the “tentpoles” of your story. The “major high and low plot points that absolutely have to be there.”

It’s basically a more fleshed out version of your Super Simple Story from Step 3.

And there you have it! The end of step 12 and Part 2 of this process.

Other

Opening: You’ve described an arc of change for your protagonist, which is critical.

Closing: I just want you to get a sense of the basic shape of what happens in your story so you can picture it and feel how it is going to flow — because it’s going to flow directly into your Inside Outline.

PART 3: THE INSIDE OUTLINE

In This Chapter

• Why people REALLY read stories.
• How to avoid having a flabby middle and unsatisfying ending to your story.
• Why the Inside Outline works for both pantsers and plotters.

In this section, Nash points out that real life can “often feel meaningless” because we get into mindless routines and wonder what it’s all for.

“That’s what we come to story for — to see other people making sense of what can so often feel senseless.”

(I think I understand what Nash is talking about, but now that I’ve grown a bit in life, I would say that not everyone feels that life can “often feel meaningless.”

(It makes you wonder about the philosophical benefit of writing and reading stories. Is it beneficial for all? Or just for those who sometimes feel a bit existentially wobbly? Hmm…)

But in order for a novel to give a point to the readers who are asking “what’s the point [of life, for instance]?” the novel has to make sense. No one likes a novel that “feels too much like the senselessness of daily life…random, purposeless”

So in this part of the book, Nash will be introducing the Inside Outline, which will help you avoid a senseless book by “marrying the plot to the point in every scene” so that every event has personal meaning to the protag.

That way, readers can see in every scene why a protag cares, and that way the reader will care too.

Here, Nash gives an Inside Outline equation:

“This is what happens + this is how the character feels about it and makes meaning from it = this is what happens as a result.”

(For some reason, this is making me think of crochet — how fancy knot leading to fancy knot ultimately creates a blanket or article of clothing).

And she says that the Inside Outline has been used by plotters AND pantsers, because writing requires both head and heart, “fire and algebra” in the words of Jorge Luis Borges.

“By forcing writers to marry the emotional journey of their characters (the inside story) with the external elements of their plot (the outside story) so that every scene has a point and a purpose, the Inside Outline guarantees that the middle of the novel won’t collapse and the ending will be satisfying.”

(It’s really helpful of Nash to say this, because those are the two biggest problems with bad stories — collapsed middles and unsatisfying ends).

Here we go…

Opening: We read stories to watch someone else make meaning of the things that happen to them.

Closing: You can use an Inside Outline to help you write forward in your novel, to revise it once you have a complete draft, and to make it easy to develop a synopsis, but the first step is to make a three-page version of it.

Blueprint Step #13: Develop the Inside Outline

In This Chapter

• The two tiers of the Inside Outline and how they work together.

Nash begins this step by saying the Inside Outline used to be called the Two-Tier Outline because there are, well, two tiers.

But her friend and client KJ Dell’Antonia convinced Nash to rename it to the Inside Outline, because the idea is that writers are to approach their story on two levels:

1. Tier One — The plot. What happens. The external events.
2. Tier Two — Why it matters to the protag. What they feel, what meaning they are making. The emotional underpinning, why a reader should care.

And remember that each scene is linked to the next by the “because of that” clause. Like this:

1. SCENE 1: Something happens
   POINT: How the protag feels about this, what meaning he makes.
   Because of that…
2. SCENE 2: Something else happens
   POINT: How the protag feels about it…and so on…

Most novels that don’t work, Nash says, are missing this second part, the POINT to each scene.

As a writer, you can’t just put characters insituations “because you need that situation for your story to move forward, or because you think it would be a cool/dramatic/fun addition.”

In other words, you can’t just focus on the dry external plot.

And now, Nash presents the rules for writing out a proper Inside Outline:

• Use standard manuscript 1-inch margins, Times New Roman 12-point font with single line spacing and one full space between bullet-point pairings.
• First draft should be no more than 3 pages. You want to “see the bare bones of your story to make sure it holds together.” Which means you need to keep it short.
• Each bullet point should be no more than 3 lines.
• Each scene must CAUSE the next one (to create narrative drive)
• Start with your intro/outtro scenes.

The point of the rules is to keep you from going too crazy and flying off track. If your 3-page “spine” of the story is strong, then it will likely stay strong when you expand it.

(Have you noticed? Nash is HUGE on being succinct, and her own book reflects this. She cuts all the fluff and fat. Maybe too much fat in some places, but better more than less)

The rest of this chapter/step is Nash giving a few concrete examples of the SCENE + POINT pairing from different stories.

One thing to keep in mind is “the ‘because of that’ clause usually refers to the protagonist’s emotion — the point.”

Now, it’s okay to have an occasional coincidence, but too many will destroy your cause-and-effect trajectory.

And if you have multiple POVs, then make an Outline for each character, make sure they can stand alone, then combine them.

The rest of this chapter includes 3 examples of Inside Outlines.

Other

Opening: There are two tiers to an Inside Outline.

Closing: 6. Can the Inside Outline help me when it’s time to revise my novel? // Yes — it’s enormously effective for revision. I’ll explain how to use it in this way in Part 4 — and how to use it to write a synopsis once the novel is finished.

Blueprint Step #14: The Ten Point Inside Outline Checklist

In This Chapter

• How to evaluate your Inside Outline.

Now, for the last step. When you’ve finished writing your 3-page Inside Outline, it’s time to evaluate it.

Here are ten things to watch out for:

1. Is there one clear Point in your story?
2. Is the POV consistent/clear?
3. Is there an arc of change?
4. Does character motivation and logic make sense?
5. Does your protag “have agency” over their choices?
6. Does every decision have a consequence, is something at stake?
7. Check your cause-and-effect trajectory.
8. Check your opposition force. (Is the obstacle challenging the protag well?)
9. Check pacing and flow. (Tension throughout? Building and growing tension? Cut anything that isn’t driving the story forward)
10. Check genre conventions. (Does your story do what the genre expects it to do?)

(In my opinion, some of the above points overlap with each other. But that’s probably fine, since repetition and looking at similar things from different angles can be really helpful).

Other

Opening: Once you get your three-page Inside Outline done you are going to step back and analyze it.

Closing: You can download The Ten Point Inside Outline Checklist at jennienash.com/blueprint.

The reason it is important to know your story’s elapsed time is because it gives you a sense of the shape of the story…It’s a simple question and usually a simple answer, but it’s amazing how making it conscious can help you better see your story.

I will address how to use the Inside Outline when writing forward in Part 4.

PART 4: USING THE INSIDE OUTLINE TO WRITE FORWARD, TO REVISE, AND TO DEVELOP A SYNOPSIS

In This Chapter

• Various uses for your Inside Outline.
• Use the Stoplight Method to revise your work.

Once your 3-page Inside Outline is as solid as it can be, you can expand it to include every scene in your novel.

At this point, it doesn’t matter how long your outline is, as long as you keep that cause-and-effect trajectory going.

Also, you can use your Inside Outline to do a myriad of useful things, such as:

1. Trace beats in a scene
2. Trace the evolution of a secondary character or antagonist
3. Trace the development of an object or idea
4. Revise your novel using the Stoplight Method.
5. Write a synopsis to pitch your story.

What is the Stoplight Method?

“It requires the writer to analyze the work according to severity of problem rather than chronologically.”

The idea is to identify red, yellow, and green-light issues:

Red-light (the worst, big-picture) problems are found using the Ten Point checklist from before, and you fix those first, before addressing yellow, and then green-light issues.

What makes something red, yellow, or green? The scope of the problem. Red light issues are big structural problems, yellow are more involved than green but not “conceptually difficult,” and green are your surface problems like grammar and trimming dialogue.

So, how do you use your Inside Outline to revise?

• Make an Inside Outline of your current draft exactly as it is, not as you wish it were. (Nash says it will probably be between 9–15 pages)
• Show your outline to a writing partner or coach to help you identify holes or problems
• Analyze your outline based on the Ten Point Checklist.
• Use the Outline (with the stoplight method) as your map when you revise.
• Repeat as needed.

The end of this chapter features a sample synopsis created using a condensed Inside Outline.

Other

Opening: The Inside Outline is a living, breathing document.

Closing: There is no point in going home. But there is a war on. Pike has useful skills. // And a knife.

Conclusion

This is not a full chapter but a one-page wrap-up.

Nash ends where we started:

“When the going gets tough, return to your why. Tap into your motivation for why you care about this story…why it means something to you.”

And after the conclusion, there are resources where you can take the Inside Outline online course or work with a book coach, or learn how to become a book coach yourself.

(Very smart marketing! Prove your expertise in the book, then have a call to action at the end.

(The only thing I’d add is it might be more effective to drive all readers to one call to action — the email list — and then advertise the individual items there, to avoid dilution of the CTA)

Other

Opening: Once you’ve worked through the Blueprint, you should feel ready to write forward with confidence.

Closing: Come back to the point you want to make and what your ideal reader needs. This knowledge is what propels a novel, but it is also what propels a writer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Why I Rated This Book 4.7 Stars

I use this criteria to rate every book (out of 6 points per category):

Star ratings:
1 star = Basically, trash. Or worse.
2 stars = Only worth it if you really like the topic.
3 stars = Average.
4 stars = Quite Good.
5 stars = Worth re-reading more than once.
6 stars = Life-changing.

3. Craft ✍ ✍ ✍ ✍

Is this work is well-written, and are the ideas clearly and skillfully presented?

As someone who appreciates symmetry and even patterns (mostly, unless patterns are deliberately broken for artistic reasons in visual art), it is rather irritating for me that Part 1 in this book does not have any intro text whatsoever, before jumping into the actual chapters…while the other two parts do.

Literally, Part 1 includes a number title, and that’s it, while Parts 2 and 3 both have several paragraphs’ worth of text, the same length as some of the shorter chapters in this book, and then Part 4 has pages and pages of text and no chapters.

It feels unbalanced, or like the author accidentally left something out (text for Part 1, chapters for Part 4).

Sigh.

(And there are a few other places, for example, on step 10) where the author may have cut out a bit too much, introduction-wise. (Step 10 literally jumps right into a numbered tip, with zero setup)

That said, the rest of this book is clear, concise, and well-written.

(even if the author did err a bit on the side of “conciseness,” I prefer that to erring on the side of “long-windedness.”)

The thinking is logical, the examples are helpful, and the steps make sense. So all in all, I’d give the writing of this book a solid 4 stars.

2. Concept 📖📖📖📖📖📖

Is this an interesting concept, well-executed? (Are implicit and explicit promises paid off?)

LMA/LDB: This is a “do” book. The idea is for readers to actually use the information to literally write a book of their own.

I have to give this book six stars for concept, because the author promises an effective tool to help people plan, write, and revise their novels, and she delivers.

The Inside Outline Blueprint concept is extremely clear and useful. I’ve used it and am still using it.

Prior to this book, the most useful (and literally life-changing) writing book I’d ever read was Lisa Cron’s Story Genius.

This book might unseat that one in my list of Most Useful Novel Writing How-To Books.

The only downside is that Nash is SO succinct and pithy that she cuts out a little bit of the theory behind her advice — namely, why it is so important to look at big picture items like theme, and why the character’s desire and change (ought to) power the story more than plot events do.

I think the ideal is probably what I (accidentally) did — read Story Genius first to grasp the concept of The Third Rail and what truly drives a story, and then read (and apply!) Blueprint for a Book to your actual story outlining and planning process, and you should be set!

1. Core ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Are the worldview, themes, and arguments of this work true, edifying, and worth learning?

The general philosophical underpinning of this book is an inspiring one:

The ability to write a solid story isn’t just a mysterious occult ability, available only to those who are born with “talent.”

Rather, book-writing has an underlying logic and structure to it that basically anyone can learn if they are willing.

Of course, how well you execute the steps depends on you (how hard you work, how much you care, and perhaps even how much natural talent you have), but if you FOLLOW the steps, you CAN succeed.

Very encouraging, especially for aspiring novel writers.

(As we all know, novel writing is something many people want to do, but never get around to, because when they start trying, they realize just how hard it is, and often give up because they don’t know what they’re doing. Nash helps people to figure out what to do)

But as a side note, the author is clearly a product of her era (the modern era), with some social-justice-style flavorings to the specific examples she uses in her stories.

That will most likely date this book when popular culture changes in future decades.

In other words: the ideas are potentially evergreen, although the exact execution of this particular book probably isn’t.

LED Assessment

How did this book Lighten, Enlighten, or Delight the reader (that would be moi, in this case, since I’m writing this review ^^)?

Writing Tips & Practical Application

Because learning doesn’t happen until you change something you do…

To be fair, since this book lays out the “do’s” so clearly and well, we really don’t need this section in this book analysis. However, I would say the most important to-do’s are:

• Nail down your why: Take some time to think and write about why you’re writing your story.
• Brainstorm your intro/outro: Come up with at least 3 different pairings for a new story idea, and then see which one is best for your story!
• Create your own Inside Outline: Whether you’re writing a new story or revising a previously-written story, do what Nash said and create a 3-page Inside Outline that you then flesh out into a full 9–15+ page outline for your story.