Most novels are written to a formula, especially big best sellers. For example, John Baldwin, co-author of The Eleventh Plague: A Novel of Medical Terror, developed a simple formula that he used to structure his novel.
His ten-step formula is:
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The hero is an expert. |
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The villain is an expert. |
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You must watch all of the villainy over the shoulder of the villain. |
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The hero has a team of experts in various fields behind him. |
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Two or more on the team must fall in love. |
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Two or more on the team must die. |
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The villain must turn his attention from his initial goal to the team. |
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The villain and the hero must live to do battle again in the sequel. |
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All deaths must proceed from the individual to the group: i.e., never say that the bomb exploded and 15,000 people were killed. Start with “Jamie and Suzy were walking in the park with their grandmother when the earth opened up.” |
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If you get bogged down, just kill somebody. |
| More about formula. When Ernest Hemminway started as a young reporter for the Kansas City Star, he was given a style sheet with four basic rules: |
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Use short sentences. |
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Use short first paragraphs. |
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Use vigorous English. |
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Be positive, never negative |
| Asked about these rules years later, he said, “Those were the best rules I ever learned in the business of writing. I’ve never forgotten them. No one with any talent, who feels and writes truly about the things he is trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides by them.”
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