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The eight points which Watts lists are, in order: Stasis. Trigger. The quest. Surprise. Critical choice. Climax. Reversal. Resolution. He explains that every classic plot passes through these stages and that he doesn’t tend to use them to plan a story, but instead uses the points during the writing process:
- Ali Hale
Nigel Watts Ph.D. is a novelist and children’s writer with a particular interest in oriental philosophy and Sufism. His first novel, ‘The Life Game’, won the prestigious Betty Trask award in 1989.
- What Is The Eight-Point Story Arc?
- How to Use The Eight-Point Story Arc
- Plot Your Novel with Dabble
The eight-point story arc is an approach to storytelling introduced by Nigel Watts in his book, Teach Yourself Writing a Novel. As you probably guessed, this particular structure features eight major story beats: 1. Stasis 2. Trigger 3. Quest 4. Surprise 5. Critical Choice 6. Climax 7. Reversal 8. Resolution If you’ve already explored other story s...
So that’s the eight-point story arc. Now that you know what it is, let’s talk about how to use it. Or rather, let’s talk about how you canuse it, because there aren’t a lot of hard-and-fast rules here. This is a flexible format that’s here to serve you. Let me explain what I mean by that.
If you haven’t tried the Dabblewriting tool yet, I highly recommend giving this thing a whirl. It’s the easiest way to use the eight-point story arc—or any story structure, really. You can use Dabble’s Plot Grid to map out your eight story points. From there, you can either start drafting your novel right in the same tool or you can add to your exi...
This 8 point arc was created by Nigel Watts, and it’s a perfect tool for keeping your story on track. When you start a new novel, this template is a good exercise to guide you into writing up a very loose and basic idea of how your story is going to pan out.
Nigel Watts has 13 books on Goodreads with 1820 ratings. Nigel Watts’s most popular book is Writing a Novel: And Getting Published.
Sep 11, 2020 · During my creative writing degree, we were taught about Nigel Watts ‘s 8-point story arc. As a writer of literary fiction, I was hesitant to consider a formal structure when planning my own novel. I didn’t want it to be formulaic or obvious.
Apr 8, 1996 · Nigel Watts. 3.85. 361 ratings38 reviews. Now with a sharp new cover, Teach Yourself Writing a Novel helps readers follow the paths of Austin and Hemingway. The author takes them step-by-step through the writing process, from the germination of an idea to the actual writing, and from finding an agent to contacting publishers.
