The Busy Writer's One Hour Plot

by Marg McAlister

Non-fiction, writing, how-to book.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

44 pages, Unknown Binding

First published May 14, 2012

Reviews

[Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and excellent overview

This is a quick read and provides an excellent overview of story structure. While it doesn’t get into all the details and how-tos (and doesn’t intend to), the method of plotting in an hour is well-explained. It seems to me this method might be just the right amount of planning for the middle-of-the-road plantser.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's not a lot of new ideas here but it's concise and organized and offers a process for busy writers, just as the title says. Very useful.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast reading book that offers tips on how to plot your novel in about an hour. Some good ideas and solid plotting method are given by the author.

[Roland Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was helpful. It is a very short book but it gave me ideas on what to do with my index cards.

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[Izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not great but it wasn't bad. At the time of purchase, it was £1.92. (I'm a cheap-skate but I was having one of my crazy days)

This is a very short (44 pages!) book that provides tips, examples and, of course, a practical exercise on how to create a rough plot in an hour.
I might dip in and put some of the things in practice but in all honesty, I do regret buying this. If it takes you 30-40 minutes to read a book then I think it's worth thinking whether it's good value for money. At the £2 margin, I would expect a lot more than I was given. Be it snippets of advice, exercises or prompts, it would have been nice to get something extra. We're just given the bare minimum.
At the moment, the price has been bumped up to £2.56!

To be fair, you do get what you pay for -- a guide that explains how you can create a rough plot in 1 hour.
Perhaps I'm disappointed in myself for wasting my money on the spur of the moment? I don't know.
Am going to refrain from giving a proper star rating right now but I think it may be 2 or 2.5 stars.

[Joy Cagil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a how-to book on plotting a novel. Storyline, plot, subplots, ideas, characters, obstacles, conflict, resolution problems and how to go about creating a rough outline are highlighted step by step.
Although the actual planning may take an hour as the author says, the preliminary research and putting the materials together may add to the time frame. Thus, one-hour plotting claim should not be taken at face value.
Other than that, I found the book to be valuable and helpful as it gives its advice without going on and on and with a language that is easy to follow.
I recommend it if you have no other books on the subject of plotting as the information in this book, however precise and usable, is very similar to what is in the market on the same subject.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I feel like this book was written for a more advanced writer than I. Writers who would benefit the most from this method are those who are lacking in the inspiration field while keeping up the motivation (something I never see in new or fairly new writers, who normally have many ideas but little or no drive). If you're an established writer with a few books under your belt and are looking for ways to shake up your outlining and crank out the next one, this book may just be for you.

While it's very interesting to read about this method and I'm tempted to try it...in a few years...it really hasn't motivated me to go out and write. It HAS made me rethink one of my novels and re-plot it--but I won't be using this method.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to help organize my current book project. This is not a book that provides a formula to creating a plot, but rather a simple structured work exercise to ensure you have a complete plot.

You can adjust this as you need depending on your project.

Quick link to the amazon page:
The Busy Writer's One Hour Plot

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty average. There are many a guide that offer more in depth advice but for the season writer with a touch of writer's block, this book could help refocus your thoughts or get you working on other tasks along the plotting to publishing route. Unlike books of a similar nature, this book isn't stacked with lots of mini exercises to get you writing snippets of work, it's a decent length piece of advice that gets you creating detailed plots within an hour provided you have some vague ideas and a lot of creative juices flowing.

All in all, if I had the chance again, I would probably skim this at the local library than buy it to take up space on my book shelf.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast, no-frills method of plotting. If you're an in-depth plotter, it might not work so well for you. If you're a pantser, it might sap some of the energy from your story.

For the rest of us, it's a nudge to take some time and brainstorm on paper. The result won't be polished and likely won't make sense to anyone that reads it, but it might be enough to give you some serious momentum into writing your first draft.

[August · Rating 2 out of 5]

This looked interesting enough on Amazon, and the reviews there were very good... I should have known, though; it was self-published and cheap. That being said, it's not useless. I really like the format laid out for quickly plotting a book, especially as I move into the planning phase of my next novel. This book does have a few useful tips, albeit ones I could have figured out for myself had I stopped and thought about it. Not worth the purchase, probably worth the read.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource to learn the old school way of outlining (NOTECARDS!) which I admit I still use after learning it in 4th grade. I'm not sure these techniques are still taught in school but I wish they were. Works like a charm.

I love this book and will refer to it off and on to keep myself in check. When taking on a new project, the process can be overwhelming. This simplifies it and can help you keep your focus.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to my instant order update on Amazon, I bought this mid-year in 2012. I think I read three-fourths of it back then. I revisited it at the end of October and I found it to be quite insightful. I like how they break everything down. I quickly realized in my story where my big holes were. So, I am truly thankful for this book pointing out my errors. I think this is book one in a series of books and I definitely will check out the others.

4 Stars.

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this technique and would actually like to give it a true try. Getting a basic outline in an hour would be helpful. I've tried to follow this plan before but didn't get very far with it then. I'd like to try again and actually get my story skeleton down and flesh it out to help me with my books. It's also a short book and a fast read, with a lot of good information, making for a good addition to one's writing books' ebook shelf.

[Pete Abela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended.

Very specific exercises with plenty of examples and explanatory comments to help improve the quality and focus of your thought processes.

Not only can you develop the plot for your next story in an hour, you can also read this book in an hour.

All in all, it's amazing what Marg has packed into such a small space.

[Ani Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was not very deep and certainly will not solve all your problems related to developing your next novel's plot. But what I liked about the book was that it represented straight to the point practical advise, which I have not tried yet but am sure will work pretty smooth. Good reference for new writers.

[Anna Serra i Vidal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful and handy ebook to work on plot. It's a quick read that gives you plenty of room to work on the big picture of the story and what happens. It is just to keep you grounded on what you want to tell. The how it's a matter of another story but it's a great kick off.

[Catrina Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have liked a bit more info on this, but for a "one hour" plot session, it's not that bad. There is a lot of ground to cover, and doing it in under an hour, or an hour max, will help save time for busy writers.

[Lara Schiffbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives good suggestions on how to get enough structure to get a story going, while still having room to brainstorm and enjoy the creative ride. Very helpful!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice. And free to borrow on the kindle. Yay amazon prime.

[Seawood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and clear way of plotting, might give it a go.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good read. enjoyed the 60 minute brainstorming your plot method. will have to try it

[Winter Bayne]

A how to brain storming guide for your major plot elements. Would recommend to a new writer who is struggling with getting a plot going.

Very short advice book.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to keep on hand. I found the ideas easy to use and would consider them as I plot my next novel. I recommend this book for the busy author/mom/grandmother/workerbee.

[Keith E Schnakenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and inciting

very well written and laid out plan. I am finally motivated to get started. see you in another hour ;)

[Daniel]

Okay, kind of a step by step to brainstorming a plot. Too simple for my taste though.