Studying published novels, movies, and TV series episodes to improve your own works of fiction

by Lisa Miller

I’m a story junkie. Always looking for powerful elements in the books I’m reading, or movies or TV shows I’m watching. 

The Power of Breaking Down Stories

My desire to break down books and movies came out of necessity. I got overwhelmed when I tried writing fiction. A novel felt like this complicated concoction of characters and story elements. It was so BIG, daunting.

Then I discovered Four-Part Story Structure and realized dealing with these smaller, one-quarter chunks, of a novel were much easier to manage. That eventually led me to create my Story Structure Safari class. Guiding students through the four parts of a story. 

I later created my Creating a Constellation of Characters to Inhabit Your Story or Series to add focus on character creation and development and relationships in stories. 

Personal Explorations of Creative Guides

I’m a practical teacher. Find examples from successful writers or filmmakers. Study what an effective scene or character looks like on the page or in a show. 

During my classes, I ask students to find a book that is similar to what you are writing or wanting to write. It might also be a TV show or series episode, or a movie that may have characters, a plot, tone, setting, time- period or other elements that resonate with them. I call these books, shows, or movies Creative Guides. 

I ask my Constellation students to reflect on how their Creative Guide author/movie/episode may have handled a particular element we are studying in the lessons.

One powerful answer I got:

“There was so much conflict in the scene. It made me realize I didn’t have near enough in my story.”

That level of self-discovery of a student’s writing is something I want to encourage. 

Students learning for themselves what their stories or characters need to have or are missing is a skill all writers can use. 

By studying the work of others, it will spark your thinking and creativity in different parts of the character and story development process. Identifying what attracts you to a particular character or keeps you turning those pages to find out what happens next will help you plan your own characters and stories. 

Becoming a Part of My Reference Library

Some books have multiple good examples and I know I need to buy that book and dissect it for future reference and examples in one or both of my classes. 

Published novels, movies and TV episodes are all potential resources for boosting our own creativity and understanding of what makes a compelling story and creates an unforgettable character. 

Writers must also be mindful of how a story and its characters meet reader expectations of a genre. If I’m wanting to read a cozy mystery, I don’t expect multiple grisly murders and a former Navy Seal who is now a police detective.

Dissection: Without the Blood and Guts

This is where the skill of dissection can be so helpful. Dissection is the process of separating or cutting apart something, often for detailed examination or analysis. For most people, that suggests medical students studying cadavers in anatomy class. 

I want to help create Story Surgeons. Experts in the field of story dissection.  

The skills I teach don’t have to take much time or call for too many materials and best of all, no blood and guts. 

Selecting A Creative Guide

The first time you try the dissection process, you may want to select an author, book or show that you are familiar with. That way you may already have some understanding of the setting and the characters. 

For this dissection, I’ve picked Susan Wiggs’ novel Between You & Me. Wiggs is one of my go-to authors for personal reading. 

In this story, Wiggs weaves the Romance genre with Society (Domestic) and Status genres. These three genres woven together give the story greater depth, intensity, and makes me wonder and worry what will happen. 

Many of her elements were dramatic and easy to understand. It fits into the selling category of Women’s Fiction. Reader expectations is something writers always need to be aware of. 

The Dissection Process: Finding a Framework

When dissecting a story, the first thing to do is break it into four parts. I call these Zones. Each zone has its own functions and characteristics. I taught science so the process of dissection made perfect sense. This gives us a framework or skeletal-like system for our story. Each of those quarters is much easier to wrangle and study than the novel as a whole. 

Helpful Tools 

• Notebook-spiral, bound, or 3-ring
• 4 x 4 Post It notes or larger
• Post It Flags
• I use a pencil to make notes in the book while I’m writing. 
• Colored pens
• Calculator

Designate a specific Dissection notebook to keep close by where you read or watch TV. That way you can make quick notes of a character or a part of a story that is of interest. I write down my calculations of the book or show here first. 

Dissecting a Book: Between You & Me

Between You & Me is made up of 356 pages. I start counting with the first page of the story and end with the last page of the story. Not including blank pages before or after the story. Divide those total pages by 4. 

356/4= 89 pages per zone

The two Pinch Points occur at the middle of Zones 2 and 3. 

89/2 = 44.5 pages per ½ Zone.

Zone One begins on page 1 and ends on page 89=1^st Plot Point-Side Flag it

Zone Two ends on page 178=Midpoint of book - Side Flag it

1^st Pinch Point 133.5    89+ 44.5 = 135.5 – Up Flag

Zone Three ends on page 267= 2^nd Plot Point/All is Lost-Side Flag it

2^nd Pinch Point 222.5 178 + 44.5 = 222.5 – Up Flag 

Zone Four ends on page 356

Keep in mind these story page numbers may not be exact locations of events within the story. But they should be close. An excellent starting place to look. 

Flagging the Book 

Once I have my calculations, I transfer them to a 4” x 4” Post it note on the free (not glued down) endpaper when I open the book’s cover. Easy to refer to when I’m wanting to go to a specific Zone or element in the book. 

On that Post it, I write the title of the book. Below that I show my mathematical break down which includes some of the story landmarks which we’ll discuss in more detail. 

I use Post it flags to physically mark these points in the book. 

I put a flag on the right fore-edge peeking out from the side at the end of Zones 1, 2 and 3. 

This shows me where all four zones begin and end. 

Pinch Points are specific landmarks, associated with the antagonist, in the middle of Zones 2 and 3. I have them peak out from the top of those pages. 

Dissecting eBooks

Making note of these divisions and landmarks in an eBook isn’t as clear cut. Because the font size can be changed, to best suit the reader’s needs, the number of pages for the book will vary. You can find the four Zones, but they may vary slightly from a physical book. 

Zone One: The Set-Up of Between You and Me

There are two main characters:

Caleb Stolz, a 30’s Amish farmer and horse expert. He’s raising his teenage niece and around 10-year-old nephew at the family farm. Caleb’s brother and sister-in-law were murdered, and Caleb had promised to raise their children within the Amish community. 

Reese Powell is a 4^th year medical student doing a trauma rotation at a major hospital in Philadelphia. Her doctor parents run a successful pediatric practice and Reese is expected to get into an elite residency program and then join them in their work. 

The Zone 1 Protagonist is referred to as The Orphan. That fits Caleb because his mother abandoned the family when he was a young boy. The father was abusive to her. Caleb’s brother protected him from his father’s abuse. So, it was another big loss when Caleb’s brother was killed. 

Caleb was estranged from his parents and felt like an orphan. His niece and nephew are literal orphans after their parents die so it is important to Caleb to take on that role of parent and protector of them. 

Reese is no literal orphan but feels somewhat separated from her parents because of their high expectations that she follows their career choice of being a part of their pediatric practice. Go to the best schools and get into the most prestigious resident programs. She’s realizing that’s not a life choice that will be fulfilling and make her happy. 

The Ordinary World

The setting of Zone 1 illustrates the Ordinary Worlds of the main characters. Caleb’s Amish community and beliefs have dominated his life and work. Though we learn that he had plans to leave the community for good. Teens can experience the outside world during a time call rumspringa. 

Most want to experience driving cars, smoking cigarettes and weed, listening to loud music and going to shopping malls and movies.  Caleb went to the library and read books not available in his community. He wanted to learn and not live the Amish life. His brother’s deathbed request changed that. Asking Caleb to raise his children in the Amish way. 

Jacob is seriously injured in a farming accident. His recovery forced Caleb to leave the community for life-saving help. This brings him to the Exotic world of a modern city. 

By getting to know Caleb and Jacob, Reese learns about the lifestyle of the Amish and other rural people. Making her more aware of a rural and simpler type of medicine. Different from the sterile work she would do as a pediatric surgeon. 

Landmark scenes: The Inciting Incident

The Inciting Incident kick starts the story. 

Jacob is seriously injured when his arm gets caught in some farming machinery while helping neighbors with their corn crop. The only hope to save his life is to take a rescue helicopter flight to a major hospital for immediate care. 

Caleb feels he must go with Jacob. Jacob has never been outside of his Amish community. It is against Amish rules to fly in a helicopter and that goes against Caleb’s father’s expectations. 

Reese Powell is on the trauma team at the hospital. She grew up in the big city and has no real knowledge of Amish life. Meeting Caleb and working on Jacob before he goes to surgery are her Inciting Incident. She is drawn to help this man who is clueless about hospitals and how to navigate the terrible injuries Jacob has and dealing with the hospital staff. 

The Defining Moment

The Defining Moment is another Landmark scene. It’s often a conversation between the protagonist and another character that brings clarity and focus to an Internal dilemma. 

Reese and Leroy, a neighbor in her apartment building, have this conversation. They are in her apartment, and he points out the lack of any social life noted on her calendar hanging on the refrigerator. No dates. Not even just meeting friends for fun. 

Reese realizes she doesn’t really have any friends. Just work and the people there. Nothing personal. Leroy becomes more important to her and Caleb because he grew up Amish and knows their ways and how to talk in their language. He left that life and is a physical therapist at the hospital. 

Caleb will stay with Leroy during Jacob’s early recovery at the hospital. Leroy becomes a translator of the foreign worlds that Reese and Caleb need to learn. He is an encourager of them building a relationship. 

Reese and Caleb spend time together. Learning what it’s like to enjoy the company of another person and discover a way to love and accept who they each are to themselves. 

The Call to Action

Jacob is fearful of being alone in this strange place and with his arm amputated. Caleb can’t leave him, so he agrees to stay with Leroy, across the hall from Reese. 

Both Reese and Caleb feel an attraction to each other. In this big city and hospital and feeling this attraction to a non-Amish woman is so different than he’s ever felt before. This Call to Action is allowing himself to be close to a woman. 

The First Plot Point

The First Plot Point is an event or occurrence that flips the story toward a new direction. 

Caleb and Reese go on a date together. He’s staying away from his Amish community and willing to learn about the Exotic world in Philadelphia but also the possibility of a relationship with a woman. She’s learning to open up and enjoy being with a man and have some fun together. 

Story Dissection: One Zone At a Time 

Starting with one Zone of the story makes the process much less intimidating. Then moving to that next quarter and focusing in on it. Looking for the Landmark scenes in each Zone. Seeing how Zone 1 leads into Zone 2 and recognizing if there are holes and planning how to add to or make changes in Zone 1 to help it do its job better. 

Making the Process Personal

In my Safari class, I ask students to find the four Zones of their Work In Progress (WIP). It helps them get a good look at where they are and decide what changes and additions or editing may be needed, depending upon the genre of their story. This process gives them a big picture look at where they are, verses where they need to be when the story is complete. This gives them goals to work on during the class and beyond. 

Pick Up That Story Scalpel and Give Dissection a Try

Is there a book or show you would enjoy dissecting?

For me, the new Ballard series on Prime has these fascinating characters I want to dig in to. I love police procedurals and this one is based upon a character from Michael Connelly’s Bosch novels. 

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About Lisa

A veteran teacher, as well as certified counselor, Lisa's passion for teaching met her love of writing contemporary, young adult fiction. A native Texan, her stories take place in Texas with strong, smart female protagonists in an ethnically diverse cast of characters. Lisa writes what she knows, what she lives, and what she cares about.

After not finding the writing classes she needed, Lisa spent several years on a deep study of story structure. She then merged her passions into a powerful and well-loved online course Story Structure Safari. She has joined the staff at Deleyna Marr’s No Stress Writing Academy  where she is developing new classes. Her Creating A Constellation of Characters is available there now. An updated Story Structure Safari will be available in 2026. Dissecting Creative Guides will be expanded into a class in 2025.