J E N N I ENASH .C O M + AU T H O RACCELERATOR . C O M
3
Introduction
hetheryou’rewritingyourfirstnoveloryourtenth,thereisatemptation to sit down and pin it to the page before itdisappears.It’ssuchabrilliantideaandyoucanpracticallysee
thewhole thing shimmering there in yourmind, just out of reach.Besides,writingfeelssogood—it’swhollyinyourcontrolandyoucanloseyourselfforhoursintheworldofyourstory.Maybeyoudosomeworkoncharacterdevelopmentandplotting,butyouarearacehorseatthegate,readytorun,readytowrite.
I’m a book coach, which if I’m being polite, means that I givewriters the editorial feedback, emotional support, and project-managementframeworktheyneedtodotheirbestwork.IfIamnotbeingpolite,Idescribetheworklikethis:Irescuebooksfromthejawsofdeathandsavewritersfromthemselves.
Because,likeitornot,youarethewolfatthedoor,thesnarlingobstacle in theway ofwriting a good novel. (I know—youwere aracehorse,nowyou’reawolf.Soon,youwillbeahousebuilder.Justworkwithme!)Writersconstantlyfallpreytodoubt,frustration,andfeelingsofoverwhelm,andthemostpowerfulwaytominimizethesecareer-crushingemotionsistotakethetimebeforeyoustarttowrite(or revise) tounderstand thebasicelementsofyourstory.Writingyourway to theanswers iswildly inefficient,but it’swhat thevastmajorityofwriterstendtodo.
NotethatIsaidthisworkwillhelpminimizethecareer-crushingemotions,notavoidthem.It’snotpossibletoavoidthem.Thereisnomagicbullet,noprovensuccessformula,nowaytoreverseengineera goodbook.Writinganovel is a complex intellectual and creativeundertaking.It’shard.WhattheBlueprintforaBooksystemdoesisguideyouthroughthemostchallengingpartsofwritinganovelallatonetimebeforeyoustarttowrite(orrevise). Inotherwords, it’satooltomaketheprocessmoreefficient—whichshouldbeareliefifyou are writing your first book and a necessity if you are writingtowardsatightdeadlinewithapublisher.
Not convinced? Imagine that instead of writing a book, you’rebuilding a house. For months you’ve been driving through theneighborhood looking at homes, tearing pages out of decoratingmagazines,andvisitingPinteresttolookattileandpaintchips.Inyourmind, you can just see your new house—themodern kitchenwithsunlightstreamingthroughtheskylights,thebathroomwithadeep
W
J E N N I ENASH .C O M + AU T H O RACCELERATOR . C O M
4
soakingtub,apatiowithabuilt-inbarbecuewhereallyour friendswillgatheronsummerafternoons.Youcan’twaittogetstarted.Youshowupat the construction siteon theday theyare set todig thefoundation—buttheworkersaresittingaroundidle.Thecontractorisinhistruckfingeringatapemeasure.
“What’sthetrouble?”youask.Heshrugs.“Howbigdidyouwantthatkitchen?”You close your eyes andpicture themarble island, the double-
wide fridge, theopen shelvingyouwant for your teapot collection.“Big,”yousay,holdingoutyourarmstoindicatetheexpansewhereyourdogwillloungeandyourkidswillplay.
This scenariowouldneveractuallyhappen.Noonewouldeverdream of building a housewithout a blueprint to define the exactspecificationsofthestructure.Buildingahouseistoocomplex,risky,andexpensiveanundertakingtoleaveanythingtochance.Thesamethingistrueofwritinganovel,butforsomereason,manywritersarereluctanttoembracethatidea.Theyhaveboughtintotheimageofthecreative genius, pouring words onto the page as if lit by divineinspiration.That’sonereasonforthisblindspot.
Unless you’re enormously lucky or wildly talented, thesepathwayswillnotleadyoutowritethekindofbookthatcapturesareader’sheart.Ifyouplowaheadwithoutunderstandingyourstoryinsideandout,youaresettingyourselfupforfailure.Sure,youmaywriteafewtranscendentparagraphs,ormaybeachapterorthreeorfivethatreallysing,butthebookitselfwillnotholdtogether.Agentsandeditors(whoarehighlytrainedtosniffoutweakness)andreaders(whocansenseitonadifferentlevel)will immediatelyknowitthesamewayabuildinginspectorwouldknowiftheelectricalwiringinahouseisn’tuptocode.
Likethearchitectforahouse,youneedtobethearchitectofyourbook and start with a blueprint. You need to spend some timehammering out the foundation of your story, identifying theunderlyinglogicofit,understandingyourownemotionalconnectiontoit,andmakingfundamentaldecisionsaboutshapeandstructure.Itis shocking howmany writers leap over this stage of the creativeprocess—going straight into character development, plotting, orwriting—andhowmuchfrustrationtheyinviteintotheprocessasaresult.
J E N N I ENASH .C O M + AU T H O RACCELERATOR . C O M
5
yearsonadraftthatdoesn’tdeliver?
What Exactly is the Blueprint for a Book System?
TheBlueprintforaBooksystemwalksyouthrough14foundationalquestionsaboutyourstory.Someofthesequestionsmayseemsimpleandobvious,buttheyarenotmeanttobeansweredquickly.You’renotcheckingoffboxesonagovernmentform—check,yes,gotit,next.I typically spend four to eight weeks going back and forth with awriteron theBlueprint, and thework isoftengrueling,becausesomanywriterswouldratherjustwrite.Iwantyoutofighttheurge.Iwantyoutowrestlewiththesequestions,ideallybeforeyouwriteasingleword,buttheycanbeinstructivewhereveryouareinwritingor revising your book. Working on them should be an iterativeprocess—meaningyoureturnagainandagaintoyouranswersasyoudeepenyourunderstandingof your story.You reviseandedit.Youtweakandtrim.Yougobackthroughthestepsoverandoverandoveragainuntilthefoundationofyourstoryissolid.EverystepyoutakeintheBlueprinthasthepotentialtoenrichandimpacttheearliersteps,so it’s not a linear, straightforwardprocess. Youwill constantly beadjustingtomakeitclearer,stronger,andmoresolid.
Thebulkof your timewillbe spenton the steps inPart3:TheInsideOutline,whichistheheartoftheBlueprintforaBooksystem.AlltheotherstepsintheBlueprint leaduptotheInsideOutline.Ifyoualreadyloveoutlines,thisonewillintroduceyoutoapowerfulnewelement.Ifyouareanoutlinehater—aso-called“pantser”whowritesbytheseatofyourpants—IbetthattheInsideOutlineisoneyou’lllearntoembrace.Thisoutlineisnotlikeanyotheroutlineyou’veeverused (or avoidedusing), because insteadof tracing events throughtimethewaytraditionalplot-basedoutlinesdo, it traces thecause-and-effectengineofthestory.It’sanentirelydifferentbeast.Andit’sveryshort—justthreepages,max.It’slikethelittlefoammodelofahouseanarchitectbuilds togetasenseof theshape,or themuslinpatternaseamstressusestoenvisionhowthefinisheddresswillflow,ortheclaymaquettethathelpsasculptorseehisworkbeforecarvingit out of marble. Creators of every kind do work to envision thefinishedwholebeforetheystart.Novelistsshouldbenodifferent.
You can download a Blueprint workbook atjennienash.com/blueprint.
J E N N I ENASH .C O M + AU T H O RACCELERATOR . C O M
6
PART 1
Story Fundamentals
J E N N I ENASH .C O M + AU T H O RACCELERATOR . C O M
7
BLUEPRINT STEP #1
Why Write This Book?
n2013,PixarstoryboardartistEmmaCoatswrotedowntherulesfor storytelling she learned while working at the legendaryanimationstudio.IespeciallyloveRule#14.It’snotactuallyarule
IstartwithwhybecauseofSimonSinek’smega-sellingbusinessbook,StartWithWhy.Ihavelearnedanenormousamountaboutcoachingwritersfromreadingbusinessbooks,andthisoneisatthetopofthelist.Ifyouhaven’treadit,doitnow.Ifyou’renotreallygoingtoreadit,thenlistentoSimonSinek’sTEDtalkonhowgreatleadersinspireaction.It’s18minuteslong,butevenifyouonlylistentothefirstsixminutes, you’ll get it, because hismessage is crystal clear: “Peopledon’tbuywhatyoudo;peoplebuywhyyoudoit.”Inotherwords,it’snotenoughtocreateaproductthatpeoplemightwanttobuy,orabookthatreadersmightwanttoread.Yourstoryhastospringfromadeep conviction on your part, or it risks not resonating with thereadersyouwanttocaptivate.
ListentowhatliteraryagentAnnRittenbergsaysaboutgenerosityina speech she gave at Bennington College in 2002. I have beenreferencing this speech for almost twenty years, because it gets sopreciselyatwhyyouneedtoknowyourwhy:
IhaveaclientwhosewritingIabsolutelylove,thewayIlovethewritingofallmyclients.I'vegottentoknowherwellinthedozenorsoyearswe'veworkedtogether,andIoncetoldhershehad no skin between herself and the outside world. Such aconditioncanmakedailylifepainful,butitcanalsomakeforwonderfully particular,wonderfully alivewriting. It'swritingthat'sstrippedbareofthekindofchattyfillerthatmakesthewriterfeelmoresecure,thatassuagesthewriter'sfearofwhatshe'sseeninthosedeeprecesses.Everysentenceispointed,tothepoint,aworkingpartofthewholemachine.
Iseeplentyofwritingthathaskernelsofgoodinit,butit'shedged aroundwith somuch tentativeness or uncertainty orexcess or stinginess, that it doesn't allow the outsider—thereader—in.Itdoesn'trevealthecharacter.AndifIcan'tfindachink in thewall, I know that the agent/author relationshipisn'tgoingtobesuccessful.
You can seewhy the concept of authenticity and generosity ofspiritissoimportanttowritingfiction,sotheveryfirstthingtodoistogethonestwithyourselfaboutyourwhy.Digdeepandwriteonepageonwhyyoumustwritethisbook.Whatdoesitmeantoyou?Whydoesitmatter?Whydoyoucare?
Notethataskingwhyyoumustwritethisbookisdifferentfromasking why you are writing a book or what you want from theexperience.Yourmotivationprobablyhastodowithanynumberofthings—fame, money, leaving a legacy, or proving to yourself orsomeoneelsethatyoucandoit.Writerswanttowrite!Wewanttoraiseourvoiceandbeheard!Wewanttomakeanimpactonreadersthewaywritershaveimpactedus.ThevastnumberofwritersIworkwithsaythattheywanttowriteabookbeforetheydie. It’softenathing they have dreamed about doing since theywere very young.These are powerful and important motivations, and I am all forknowing the answer to these questions—what you want out ofwritingabook,whatyourgoalis,whatyouwouldconsidersuccess.
But for the Blueprint, we are talking about the why for thisparticularstory.Whydoyouwanttowritethisspecificbook?Whydoyoucare?Becauseifyouknowwhyyoucare,yourreaderswillgetit,too.
Purchase Blueprint for a Book: Build Your Novel From the Inside Out at amazon.com
