Book excerpt: Learn to Plot without sacrificing Creativity What separates great novels from mediocre ones? Story. Authors that master this vital skill keep their readers up at night, and suffer the deluge of 'when is the next book coming out' emails. Whether you are a first time novelist, or a seasoned author, Plot Gardening will teach you the fundamentals of storytelling, delivered in a practical way. Through exercises at the end of each chapter you will build your own outline, and you'll do it without sacrificing the creativity that is so vital to telling great stories. In this book you'll learn: The basics of story structure, and how it is used How and why worldbuilding is important, and how to do your own worldbuilding The components of great characters, and how you can bring yours to life How to create a living outline that will change and adapt as your characters come to life