Learning From Story Analyses

While researching the information for Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict, I dissected hundreds of books, movies, and television shows. I broke them down chapter by chapter and scene by scene. Breaking down a story in this way can help you learn structure, elements that worked and those that didn't.

Here are a few of my blog posts about story elements.

The Power of Story

New Stories

Conflict Overview: The Americans

Antihero as Protagonist Luke Murphy

What Dan Brown Does Right

Analysis Watcher in the Woods

Dissecting Christie Part 1 Crooked House

Dissecting Christie Part 2

Dissecting Christie Part 3

Dissecting Christie Part 4

Dissecting Christie Part 5

Dissecting Christie Part 6

The Magic of Voice A R Kahler

Mental Detours Burn Notice

House at the End of the Street Part 1

House at the End of the Street Part 2

Going Dark

Dark Places Part 1

Dark Places Part 2

Red Sparrow: A Broken Winged Bird

Wonder Woman versus Atomic Blonde

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Review of Throne of Glass

And Then There Were None Agatha Christie

Anne of Green Gables

Lessons from The Voice

A Tale of Two Dystopias Kincaid and Bracken

A Mystery with Multiple POVs Deborah Crombie

Conflicts of the Hunger Games Reading as a fan and reading as an analyst are two different experiences. To analyze a book, you have to pause after each scene and take notes, then take a longer look back at the overall arc and what worked (or failed). Here are some questions to ponder as you do so.

Story Analysis Questions Next week's post is a questionnaire to help you with your analysis of books.
Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict, available in ebook and print, was the result of my analyses of what makes good fiction. You can learn about the process and access free tools and forms at http://dianahurwitz.com/sbbbooks.html