I’m sharing my review The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot by Elizabeth M Hurst #blogtour #nonfiction #writingadvice

The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot

* DO YOU STRUGGLE TO FINISH WRITING A NOVEL?
* DO YOU RUN OUT OF MOMENTUM BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOUR STORY IS GOING?

The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot is your trusted companion for turning story ideas into structured, compelling narratives. In this fourth instalment of the Wordsmith’s Guides series, Elizabeth M. Hurst takes you through popular plotting methods—including the Snowflake Method, Save the Cat Beat Sheet, and The Inside Outline—helping you choose the right approach for your writing style. You’ll also find practical advice on troubleshooting common pitfalls, crafting satisfying endings, and keeping your plan adaptable as your story evolves.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• Clear explanations of proven plotting methods
• Guidance on choosing the right structure for your novel
• Tips for overcoming plot issues and staying on track
• Advice on writing satisfying, well-rounded endings
• A practical appendix full of tools and templates to support your planning process

Whether you’re a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between, Planning the Perfect Plot will help you shape your novel with clarity and confidence.

Purchase Link

 https://geni.us/PlottingAmazon

My Review

Planning isn’t something I really do as a writer. But I was certainly curious to see how others might go about writing their stories. Elizabeth M Hurst gathers together many different techniques for planning a novel, and it is interesting to discover how I could be writing a novel, if my mind worked in that way. Mine, alas, does not. It thrives on the chaos. But, I do think the book is an excellent resource for those who plan before writing, and perhaps worry too much about sticking to their plan and the plot they thought they’d be writing when it goes awry and things starts to misbehave. I found it intriguing to read how people use ‘beats’ to craft their story as well as arcs and other techniques. I’m in awe of anyone who can think that far ahead:) I’m not a planner because I ‘feel’ my way through a story – but the author certainly nails my writing style in her explanations.

The author readily acknowledges that most people will use a variety of these techniques, and I was pleased to see that through it all, the delightful chaos of characters and plot misbehaving was never far from her thoughts.

The idea behind writing the novel, was, the author says, to encourage writers to finish their drafts using whatever techniques work for them. This is a worthy endeavour. Many people start writing a story and falter when things start to feel ‘off.’ This should provide opportunities to get writers writing again by thinking of their plot in different ways. I suspect it could be used as an effective diagnostic tool to discover where a plot is faltering, and once that’s been done, writers will learn what works and doesn’t work for them and in future, potentially, avoid the traps waiting to choke off the creativity.

A concise and interesting summary of the way writers write, providing suggestions for breaking free from processes that might not be working. I’m sure all writers will find their ‘type’ in the explanations.

Meet the author

Elizabeth was born and bred in the picturesque harbour town of Whitehaven in the northwest of England, where the long, wet winters moulded her into a voracious reader of fiction to escape the dismal weather.

She graduated with a degree in Business Studies and a string of jobs followed, after which she finally settled in the automotive industry, where she spent twelve happy years.

Having already started writing around the age of 40, she had begun to dream of a more creative lifestyle and set about creating her freelance editing and proofreading business, EMH Editorial Services. In 2018, she quit the corporate world and concentrated her energy full-time towards her love of the written word.

Elizabeth now lives with her husband in the warm and sunny south of France, where the wine is cheaper than the water, and the cats spend their days hunting lizards and dreaming of the birds that roost on the roof.

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https://elizabethhurstauthor.com/