Author: Marilyn Brant

Marilyn Brant

Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy, and mystery. Her debut novel won the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award (2007), and she was named Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. For more information, please visit her website.

Beat Sheets, Buddy Love, Novel Writing

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Novel Beat Sheet

Written by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows Publisher: Random House, Inc., 2008 — my edition: 2009 Dial Press Trade Paperback Total pages: 274 STC! Genre: Buddy Love Make no mistake, while this #1 New York Times bestselling novel was certainly branded as upmarket historical fiction,…

Marilyn Brant, September 17, 2020 11 min read

An illustration from an 1897 edition of Jane Austen's Persuasion

Beat Sheets, Buddy Love, Novel Writing

Persuasion by Jane Austen
Novel Beat Sheet

See how Jane Austen’s revered novel Persuasion hits Blake Snyder’s 15 story beats.

Marilyn Brant, September 3, 2020 17 min read

The cover of the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Beat Sheets, Dude With A Problem, Golden Fleece, Novel Writing

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Novel Beat Sheet

See the story beats of the novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Marilyn Brant, April 30, 2020 11 min read

Wilde

Beat Sheets, Fool Triumphant

The Importance of Being Earnest Beat Sheet

See how Wilde’s “Trivial Comedy for Serious People” hits Blake Snyder’s story beats.

Marilyn Brant, November 14, 2019 0 10 min read

The Novel that introduced stephanie plum

Beat Sheets, Novel Writing, Whydunit

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) Novel Beat Sheet

See how the first “Stephanie Plum” novel’s beats are on the money.

Marilyn Brant, October 24, 2019 0 10 min read

save the cat

Beat Sheets, Novel Writing, Rites of Passage

Anne of Green Gables Novel Beat Sheet

A classic for the young and the young at heart

Marilyn Brant, August 22, 2019 12 min read

The Catcher in the Rye

Beat Sheets, Novel Writing, Rites of Passage

The Catcher in the Rye Novel Beat Sheet

See the story beats of this elegy to teenage alienation.

Marilyn Brant, May 31, 2019 10 min read

The Rosie Project

Beat Sheets, Novel Writing

The Rosie Project Novel Beat Sheet

Savor a textbook example of stellar plotting.

Marilyn Brant, April 18, 2019 9 min read

About the Beats, Novel Writing, Tools

Using the Beats for Series Planning and Creating Distinctive Characters

An author needed a structural tool.

Marilyn Brant, September 15, 2017 9 min read

Beating Out a Book Series

Novelist Marilyn Brandt shows how you can use the beats to breakdown an entire series.

Marilyn Brant, July 31, 2015 5 min read