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Here we have one of the darling fairy children of Reedsy teaching us how to just slap down that blank page and type out a marketable novel outline in no time flat! Miracle of miracles. I never knew it could be this easy!

Michael Neff
Algonkian Producer
New York Pitch Director
Author, Development Exec, Editor

We are the makers of novels, and we are the dreamers of dreams.

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This Reedsy video will only confuse a new (and seasoned writer). Not only was it hard to follow but it implies writers can just magically poof the elements of a novel onto pages. Rinse, wash, done. The thesis ignores pretty much all the main elements needed for story development.  

I’m not saying that the Save the Cat template is at fault. The application of the template described in the video is where my grievance lies. I really disliked that the characters used here were randomly generated from a computer program. That implies that characters can just appear and work within a narrative. That might be fun for a game or a writing exercise but not for the creation of a successful novel. 
 

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I completely agree with Elise on this one. Having a computer program randomly generate your characters is a neat idea if you're just practicing, or warming up to the idea of writing a novel, but beyond that I don't find this video useful. In fact, I got really bored watching it and the novel idea that was created to demonstrate this plot structure was also boring and full of clichés.

I realize that Shaylynn (or however she spells her name) was doing this spur of the moment, and I'm sure she did the best she could, but I think that's where the main problem began. This video could have been so much more inspiring if she'd taken even just 30 minutes beforehand to plan out a story idea that had a bit more depth and creativity to it. I probably might have even considered trying out this type of plotting template, but now I have no interest in doing so.

Feel free to pass on this one and save 24 minutes of your life.

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Elise and Hara have it right, so I really don't have much to add. This seems like an admittedly fun plotting exercise, but I find it really unnecessary to plot a serious project like this. The video seems to be made up on the spot and the presenter is just improvising the point of the exercise as they go along.

With a little more planning and structure I could see this exercise being an excellent example of how to write out an outline live. If anything, doing something like this would be good for stretching those plotting muscles in your brain but nothing more. I would advise nobody take this video seriously as the be all, end all of outlining techniques.

Also yes. ENTIRELY too long. But this has less to do with the concept itself and more to do with the presenter not really planning anything from the start. The whole video just has the meandering vibe that rubs me the wrong way. 

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