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Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story (Bell on Writing) Paperback – February 13, 2015

by James Scott Bell (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 922 ratings
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Story loves structure...and so do readers!

Super Structure represents over two decades of research on what makes a novel or screenplay entertaining, commercial, original, and irresistible. Contrary to what some may think, structure is not a nasty inhibitor of creativity. Quite the opposite. Properly understood and utilized, structure is what translates story into a form readers are wired to receive it.

And it is only when readers truly connect with your story that they turn from casual readers into fans.

The material in this book greatly expands upon the chapter on structure in Write Your Novel From the Middle. Super Structure can be considered a companion to that book, but it also stands alone in its treatment of the elements of a solid and pleasing plot.

Here's more good news: Super Structure will work for any type of writer--those who like to outline, those who just fly by "the seat of the pants," and those who do a little of both. That's because Super Structure stresses the concept of "signpost scenes." There are fourteen signpost scenes, or beats, that can be used to create an entire plot, the skeleton of an idea, or a map to help you figure out what to write next.

Every signpost is given its own chapter and explanation, along with a section called "Helpful Hints for Plotters and Pantsers," showing you how to apply what you've learned and adapt it to your own style of writing.

Never write a weak novel or screenplay again. Super Structure is a proven foundation that never fails. It frees you to add your original voice and vision, all of which adds up to bestselling fiction and hit screenplays.

"I need three things before I tackle a new novel: Diet Coke, a laptop, and my dog-eared copies of James Scott Bell's books on writing craft!” - Kami Garcia, #1 NY Times & International Bestselling author

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Bell on Writing
  2. Print length
    118 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    February 13, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.27 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0910355193
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0910355193
  8. See all details
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How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript (Bell on Writing)
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Compendium Press (February 13, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 118 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0910355193
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0910355193
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.27 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 922 ratings

About the author

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James Scott Bell

James Scott Bell

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For notifications and deals about JSB's new releases, sign up for his occasional update at www.jamesscottbell.com and look for the FREE BOOK page. Your mail box will never be overstuffed nor will your address be shared with anyone else.

JAMES SCOTT BELL is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the author of many bestselling thrillers. He is a popular writing instructor and conference speaker, and formerly served as the fiction columnist for Writer's Digest magazine. Jim attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver, and graduated with honors from the University of Southern California Law School. He lives and writes in L.A. and blogs weekly at Kill Zone -- www.killzoneblog.com

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
922 global ratings
BEST book ever! If I could give it 6 stars, I would!
5 Stars
BEST book ever! If I could give it 6 stars, I would!
Super Structure is the BEST book about writing stories. If I could give it 6 stars, I would! The author is direct and clear. His lessons helped me a lot to organize the plot of my novel and create rhythm. I highly recommend this book to screenwriters too.
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Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very very informative, funny and eye opening
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
I had a few aha moments reading this.
I totally recomend any writer read this. The author explains everything so simple and clear it is impossible not to understand and learn.
I will definitely buy more of his books!
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Cristina B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book about structure I know, and I've read a lot of them.
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
Verified Purchase
Excellent advice, the best book about structure I've ever read. I'm an editor, and from now on will recommend it to all the fiction writers I deal with.
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Les Simpson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Insight Into How Stories Work
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2022
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This is another concise but actionable book by James Scott Bell. His “Fourteen Signposts” compliment other plot/story guides, from Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey to Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet.

I like how Bell gives hints on using his signposts to authors that are “plotters” as well as those that are “pantsers”. His focus on the Mirror Moment in the middle of the story was good as well, following nicely from his book “Write Your Novel From The Middle” and showing how all the other parts of the story work with and around it.

I’d certainly recommend this book for authors to examine when they are having difficulty making a story come together, as well as anyone curious about how and why stories work.
3 people found this helpful
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Teddi Deppner
5.0 out of 5 stars Story Structure concepts made accessible for all
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
James Scott Bell is one of the few authors that I collect. While I enjoy his fiction, I especially watch for his how-to books on the writing craft. He's done his homework, put in the years, tested the waters -- you name the metaphor, he's got it under his belt. (Ha!)

When I'm writing and get stuck somewhere, I need something to jog me out of the hole. And it varies: I may get stuck at the beginning, the middle or the end. Or even during the process of brainstorming an idea just to determine if it's got enough story potential to bother with. Now, I'm more of a "pantser" than a "plotter" (if you write fiction, you know what I mean), but even I like to have a general bare-bones structure to guide me. I may scrap it and re-work it as I go, but if I don't have something to shoot for, I end up bogged down in the Dead Marshes with no way out.

Between JSB's "Plot and Structure", "Write Your Novel from the Middle" and this newest, "Super Structure", I've got the tools to get me going again. He packs these books full of examples from real books and movies. Seeing examples helps me a LOT. I also have in my library an array of his other books for specific issues like "Conflict and Suspense", "Dazzling Dialogue", "Revision & Self-Editing", but I reach for these books on structure during the whole process.

Super Structure zooms in on the very essence of what about the *form* of a story makes it engaging for readers. You'll want to earmark the chapter where he strips structure to the bare bones (the five "tent poles" as he calls them) and then describes each piece. On the Kindle version, the table of contents is perfect for jumping right to the spot I need help with.
83 people found this helpful
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Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 things standout in this book - JSB wants to help with reader satisfaction and with writer success - I'm good with that
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2016
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Why do I like this book? This is the third JSB writing - how to - book and they've all been read within days of each other. The hint is that it's the third book in days so I find value in his books. When you read several JSB - how to - books you'll quickly note he carries his personal stories and examples through multiple books. I've seen some reviews that bemoan this. I personally don't mind. I've noted that it is contextual, he includes the story or the example to enlighten the reader on a concept within the book's theme so there is a new twist and also it serves to cement the idea. In the three books I've read I haven't found it to be an egregious JSB habit and I've learned something new from each book. Superstructure is no exception. There are a lot of good exercises in here along with new ways to think about how to form plot and structure with two things in mind, the satisfaction of the reader and the commercial success of a book using this methodology. I find that heartwarming and useful. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to any aspiring writer who wants to write better. This book is a bargain and it's a quick read.
3 people found this helpful
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NattyB
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writing help
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023
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This is an excellent book to help writers--especially those who get stuck and are unsure how to proceed with their story. Using the framework provided here will keep any author moving forward with confidence.
One person found this helpful
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D C Grant
5.0 out of 5 stars A concise roadmap to story structure
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
I purchased this book because I was stuck in the middle of WIP and I’d read “Write from the Middle” and really clicked with what the author had to say in that. I was hoping this this book on story structure would get me out of the quagmire I found myself…and it did. I’m a plotter and had this book sort of plotted out, I knew what I wanted to happen but, silly me, had not actually sat down and written down the story beats in detail. Thus I found myself in the middle and not knowing where to go. Enter Super Structure and I found the signposts that I had ignored when I started out writing this particular work. Two things stood out for me from this book – when you get stuck, think about what the other characters are doing. As I am writing a mystery/thriller I had focused too much on what my character was doing and not thought too much about what the other characters were doing off scene. As I’m writing in first person, knowing what the other characters were doing didn’t seem important – wrong! The second notable signpost for me was the “Pet the Dog” moment. This gave me an idea for a final twist that I could use for the last half of the second half leading into the “Door of no return #2”. While this book helped me with my current problematic WIP, I will certainly use it again on my next, probably BEFORE I start writing this time. Recommended for both plotters and pantsers, it is a short book that delivers a concise roadmap to building an effective story structure.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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R. Lafleur
5.0 out of 5 stars Giving me the structure I need to write!
Reviewed in Canada on December 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Love this book for being direct and to the point in providing 14 beats to structure any stories. The author provides numerous examples from classic books to demonstrate the effectiveness of these story points. For me, I have a ton of ideas, having a structure to lay out my stories ideas is priceless. Thank you Mr. Bell!
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Leandro
4.0 out of 5 stars Super Structure!
Reviewed in Italy on February 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Primo approccio a James S. Bell.
Tipica scrittura da sceneggiatore/scrittore/story editor americano: veloce, ironico e concitato, ma sempre molto istruttivo. Bell teorizza la "super struttura" ovvero un meccanismo per strutturare storie orientandosi su dei "signpost", ovvero dei cardini fondamentali che devono presentarsi in un determinato punto della trama e devono scaturire determinate situazioni del libro-racconto-film. Per quanto riguarda la drammaturgia non apporta molto di nuovo (tutto si basa sempre sulle considerazioni già viste in McKee, Vogler, Snyder e altri), ma sicuramente il manuale rappresenta un buon approfondimento dei singoli elementi che costituiscono la struttura di una storia di successo. Vale sicuramente i (pochi) soldi spesi, anche perché contiene esercizi utili per entrambi i tipi di scrittori (i cosiddetti "plotters" e i "pantsters").
Ideale per tutti gli aspiranti scrittori/sceneggiatori e per i curiosi, ma indicato a chi ha già letto alcuni dei più importanti, tra i molti, manuali dell'universo Scrittura Creativa.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really useful.
Reviewed in France on January 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
Easy to read and apply. I'm going to try this method. Motivating style. Very useful for authors at any level. Thanks Mr Bell.
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DNC
5.0 out of 5 stars Never again wonder where your story is going next
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
If, like me, you have ever started writing a story only to sigh in frustration when you realise that you don't know what should happen next, then this book is for you.

Super Structure tells you the "beats" that will resonate with readers if they appear in your story. It doesn't tell you how to write - there are a lot of other books that will give you the skills to create characters, render conversations realistically and describe your fictional world. It doesn't dictate what your story is about. What it does is to give you "signposts" to point the direction through your narrative. If you don't know where to go next, look at where you are in the story and follow the appropriate signpost. Your reader, seeing the signposts, will have faith that the journey is going to be worth their while.

One caveat: I'm a natural planner. Although the book advertises itself as being appropriate for both planners and "pantsers", and there is a nice paragraph or two at the end of each chapter explaining how each type of writer can apply the skills to their writing, I can't help feeling that it will be difficult for "pantsers" to work with it. Just a word of caution.

For those of us who do have a natural gravitation towards careful plotting, I would wholeheartedly recommend buying the book. It fills a gap in the "beginning, middle, end" corner of the market by putting a little meat on those bones with the events that define, and the doorways that connect, those parts of the story.

Having devoured the book in two sittings, I'm now at my computer ready to apply Super Structure to the latest idea in my head. It's that good.
8 people found this helpful
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KC
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Guidance
Reviewed in Canada on March 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
I've avoided structure because of the exact reasons Mr. Bell pointed out at the beginning. Now I'm going to embrace it. Fantastic and easy peasy to follow.
Thank you Mr. Bell
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