Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps (Writing Mastery)

Anyone can write a successful novel. You just need to understand what makes a novel successful… Have you ever noticed that your favorite books and movies follow a similar pattern. Have you noticed that there's something specific that happens about 25% of the way through the story that sends the story in a new direction.

Or that huge plot twists tend to come right in the dead center of the story. Or that 75% of the way through there's usually distinct "low point" or "rock bottom" where all seems lost for the main character. If you have, then you've stumbled upon the secret storytelling code.

The secret storytelling code can be found in all great stories ever told. Movies, novels, novellas, plays, memoirs, short stories. Wherever there's a narrative being told, the code is there, hidden beneath the surface.

This code (which inspired Blake Snyder's famous Save the Cat. plotting method) is made up of 15 key story "beats," or "plot points. " The beats are markers along the path of the story that are used to track a character's journey and ultimate transformation.