Introduction to the Revised Edition

Before self-publishing Blockbuster Plots: Pure & Simple (BBP) in 2003, I searched the index of every popular writing book I could get my hands on. If I did find mention of plot, I never found more than a single chapter. At that time, the focus of these books was on writing for discovery. Plot and structure constricted the channels for creativity and stifled inspiration. I found the opposite to be true with my students: Structure doesn’t kill creativity. Rather, developing fixed boundaries enables creativity, sparking innovation and freeing the mind of the tension of aimless wandering. Since then there has been an explosion of books on plot. Currently, plot is mentioned, discussed, and taught in every writing circle, for every genre, and using a variety of approaches.

Now it’s time to go back to the basics. Early on, I found that writers instinctively know that they can immediately improve their stories with a command of plot, structure, and scene. Falling back on a commonly recognized mantra for writers (and my experience in special education), I strived to show plot, structure, and the essential elements of scene with the help of two visual templates I developed, the Plot Planner and Scene Tracker, instead of telling or lecturing on these elusive elements. But as much as some writers wanted help, they were also resistant and fearful of organized, linear templates. Even when some writers fought back, I persisted. I wanted writers to experience the freedom of structure—I saw that ah-ha moment flash across too many writers’ faces. These writers benefited from facing their fears, trying new techniques, and finding solutions to problems in their writing that they didn’t know existed. I encouraged writers to lean on plot, structure, and scene concepts because I received e-mails and handwritten letters from other writers, expressing their thanks.

The longer I taught plot to writers, the more stories, memoirs, and screenplays I analyzed for common, universal elements of plot, structure, and scene. At the same time, I gained insight into writers’ inner worlds of creativity. From this exploration and insight, I developed self-produced plot workshop DVDs (now online video programs), the Plot Whisperer blog, and The Plot Whisperer, my first traditionally published book. In The Plot Whisperer, I introduced the idea of the Universal Story—a concept of birth, growth, death, and renewal that exists at the core of every narrative (and of life itself). That turned me into a best-selling author.

Throughout the years, as writing trends shift and as I delve deeper into the secrets of change and transformation based on the Universal Story, I’ve stayed true to every single idea in Writing Blockbuster Plots. But I’ve also expanded on my original ideas, always returning to the two templates I offer here: the Plot Planner and the Scene Tracker. These visual representations of plot and scene remain at the core of my work. They even translate to transformation for writers and people interested in living a more fulfilling life.

Martha Alderson

Santa Cruz, California

September 2015