In fiction writing, there’s story structure (e.g., Three-act, Freytag’s), and there’s outlining methods (e.g., Snowflake, Save the cat). I’ve studied them and developed a hybrid structure+plotting method for myself and it’s saving this cat as I prepare for a productive 2-week writer’s retreat that starts this weekend.

Whichever methods (and writing study guides) you follow, this post summarizes well the benefits of structure.