Weekend Writer: Trying out The 5 Sentence Method by Rebecca Thorne

Hey all, Sam here.

Welcome back to another installment of Weekend Writer. Much like I did last month, I’m doing a little deeper of a dive into this month’s writing craft book. So, last week I did a general review of The 5 Sentence Method by Rebecca Thorne, and this week I’m actually trying out the plotting method with my current WIP.

If you’re new to Weekend Writer, hello and welcome. Basically this is a series focused on creativity and the craft of writing. On the first Friday of each month I use a series of creativity generators to come up with prompts to help get you writing (or creating–if you want to make visual art, then go for it!). You can find March’s Weekend Writer prompts here. The last Friday of the month, I share snippets from what I’ve been writing–usually based on the prompts from the beginning of the month, but sometimes from my other writing. For all the Fridays in between, I read a book on writing craft and do a review post, before going a little deeper. Going deeper looks a little different with each book. Sometimes I’m sharing quotes that resonated with me, and other times I’m trying the exercises or methods presented in the book. It really just depends.

That’s it. And if you’d love to share snippets of your own creative works (based on my prompts or not) or even your own attempts at some of the exercises in the writing craft books, I’d love to check your posts out, so send me a link to your blog or story or reel or video or whatever method you use to share your creativity.

All right, let’s go ahead and dive right into today’s post.

Experience TikTok’s viral 5 Sentence plotting method, written by bestselling author Rebecca Thorne!

Discover the game-changing 5 Sentence Method in this straight-talking, no-BS guide to crafting fantastic fiction. In just 5 SENTENCES, you’ll nail your plot points and tie them to specific word count goals, ensuring your story has the pace and rhythm to keep readers hooked.Even better, this bite-sized book explores a 4 round editing strategy that will make your revisions a breeze. Expect comprehensive examples, a few curse words, and a ton of valuable insight! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned author, this guide will transform the way you write, edit, and think about storytelling.

It’s time to make your book shine!

—-Feedback for The 5 Sentence 

“I had so many ah-ha moments reading it.” – Chris B.

“Incredibly helpful and immensely valuable.” – Sara M.

“So many eureka moments here!” – Amy N.

Trying It Out

Okay, to start, before diving into the 5 Sentence plotting method, in Rebecca Thorne’s book she gives us seven questions to ask yourself before writing. Now, I will absolutely say that I did not ask myself these BEFORE writing. I’ve had the idea for this story since 2017 and even wrote a little of it back then, but the end of last year and into this year is when I’ve really started to focus on trying to get this book written.

How are you going to publish?What’s your hook?What is your book’s genre?Why that main character?Who is your villain?What’s your theme?Why are YOU the best author for this story?

All right, let’s get down to answering these, one at a time.

For Roll for Romance (I’ve been using this as the title for years, and I like it, but I still might change it if something else comes up. Because I know that there are other books and podcasts and such with this title/name), I already know that I will need to self-publish. To traditionally publish, your book needs to fit within certain genres and guidelines, and I worry that a publisher wouldn’t know how to market mine, which is something I’ve seen other authors talk about when it comes to books that blend or mash-up genres. I’ll answer this a little further in question 3.Okay, so your hook is what is going to grab your readers at the beginning. In this writing craft book, Rebecca Thorne uses the example of Gideon the Ninth and the hook of “lesbian necromancers in space,” which I’ll be honest was what made me want to read the book (and it was a great book, so the hook definitely worked). So, in one sentence, how do you grab readers’ attention?
Every time I have told people about this book I have said that it is a fictionalized adaptation of how my husband and I met and fell in love while playing Dungeons & Dragons, and people have absolutely responded positively to that quick pitch. But I think I’m going to have to make something even sharper for commercial use, for hooking people who might not have met us. So I have a rough hook at the moment, and I’ll try to edit and shape it before I actually reach the publication stage.Roll for Romance is split between two genres and follows two major plot lines, so it kind of feels like two separate but interconnected stories. This book is told over the course of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and it bounces between the out-of-game romance between the Dungeon Master and one of the players, and the in-game fantasy adventure tale. So it is a mashup of contemporary romance and fantasy. Yes, I have seen a couple of books that have had a similar set-up…books like The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall, Who We Are in Real Life by Victoria Koops, or Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce, but I’ve read all of those books and they only have brief glimpses into the in-game story. Because D&D is such an important part of the out-of-game relationship development, I have a much heavier focus on that in-game story compared to those comp titles.Why is the main character that I’ve chosen for this book this main character? Well the main two characters are based on my husband and myself. In the past couple years we have seen a few more books coming out with more representation and diversity in them, but we can still use more, and the character based on myself is on the asexual spectrum like I am. I want to see more ace rep in books, and if I want to see it, then I should be a part of making it happen (and I do that not just by writing my own ace book, but also by supporting other books with ace characters and by ace authors).Who is the villain? I’m not going to answer the in-game villain here, because that would be a spoiler. But for the out-of-game romance, there’s some communication misunderstandings that delay the romantic relationship starting. I don’t have a third-act breakup planned for this story. It happens so often in romances and it feels stale and predictable to me…plus we never had that point in our relationship, and while I’ve changed some things (like most of the in-game adventure because we were using a 5e adventure book and I decided to craft something original for the book), I don’t want to make major changes to our romance story, because I love our love story.This question is what’s the theme? I think the strongest aspect of this story is love and friendship, so I like to say for this book “sometimes relationships are just a roll of the dice.”Finally, why are YOU the best author for this story? I am the best author for this story because it is my story. I lived this story. I experienced all of it. I’ve always dreamed of that sweep you off your feet storybook romance, and though it took years of waiting to find my person, it actually happened. And I just want to share that with the world.

All right, with that done, we can look at the actual 5 Sentence Method for plotting. It is: 1) Inciting Incident, 2) Leaving Home, 3) Midpoint Reversal, 4) Beginning of the End, and 5) Conclusion.

And what I realized as I was looking at Roll for Romance is that this book has the feel of two separate but interwoven stories, and so I had to plot it that way as well…so I needed to do 5 Sentences for the out-of-game romance, and 5 sentences for the in-game fantasy adventure.

Here’s what’s really fun…I’ve only been writing the fantasy adventure so far, because I want to have that one done before I weave the out-of-game story in, mostly because there will be moments of talking about what happens in the game, so I need to already really know all of that. But there’s also the fact that I keep changing my FMC’s name. So, for the purposes of this post, I’m just going to use my name, Sam, as a placeholder. By the time this book is written and edited, there will be another name in that place for the FMC.

After an unexpected hiatus with her Dungeons & Dragons group, Sam has to find a new group. Thanks to a fellow player, she finds one and meets Dungeon Master Andrew. Though only looking for a gaming group and some new geek friends, Sam and Drew question if their relationship could be something more. With a little nudge from their friends, Sam and Drew decide to go on a date. As they spend more time together, they realize that they just might have rolled a Nat 20 on romance.

Okay, I am honestly terrible at trying to summarize a story into just five sentences, with each connected to a main story beat. But that’s basically it. And I don’t mind sharing all of the general details for the out-of-game story, because…well, my husband and I have been married for 2.5 years now, and also, it’s a romance story…a HEA or HFN is expected, so none of this is really a spoiler.

Now, the in-game fantasy adventure 5 Sentences….well, I don’t want to share all of those, because there would be spoilers in that one.

Meeting after stopping an altercation at a tavern, Mistwyn, Veeta, Reed, Ander, Ren, and Karrakh agree to become an adventuring party, though they have no idea what darkness looms in their future. While becoming local heroes, they also find themselves stumbling upon a plot by a group known as the Echoes of Eternal Resonance.

And….sorry that’s all you get. The Midpoint Reversal through the Conclusion could spoil some things.

But, okay, here’s a bonus….a really terrible placeholder cover that I designed. I promise, I will have something much much better by the time I am finished and ready to publish.

Haha….well, there you go. Enjoy my terrible photo/editing job. I actually have ideas for a proper cover, but I have to save up to hire the artist, and I know the artist I want is at least a couple thousand for a cover, but that is absolutely worth it.

All right, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.