The Blue Garret

Deep craft analysis and creative encouragement for fiction writers

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story structure

The confessional structure of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Jan 11, 2026

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15 min read

The confessional structure of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

How McEwan uses narrative reversal to question what we can know about the past

Kristen Tate

scene study

Summary as character development in V.E. Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

Feb 27, 2026

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11 min read

Summary as character development in V.E. Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

How to use summary to compress time without losing emotional depth

Kristen Tate

2026

Feb 16, 2026

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6 min read

Week 7: Report from the San Francisco Writers Conference

Reasons for optimism (plus some nuggets of advice)

Kristen Tate

opening

SA Cosby's King of Ashes starts with a call to the hero's journey – or does it?

Aug 30, 2025

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7 min read

SA Cosby's King of Ashes starts with a call to the hero's journey – or does it?

How to layer character, theme, and story questions into a deceptively simple opening chapter

Kristen Tate

The Novel Study Vault

$50.00

Story spreadsheets and detailed craft notes for bestselling novels — tools to help you see how successful fiction really works.

Unlock the vault!

See how bestselling novels really work

Each novel in the Vault includes a scene-by-scene story spreadsheet and chapter-by-chapter craft notes — the same analytical tools behind my Novel Study books. Currently featuring five novels with three more coming soon (included free with purchase).

Novel Study

opening

Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life opens with facts, not romance

Jun 21, 2025

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9 min read

Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life opens with facts, not romance

Why leading with theme instead of the meet-cute can strengthen a romance opening

Kristen Tate

story structure

How timeline compression works in Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Jun 1, 2025

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14 min read

How timeline compression works in Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

What happens when you shift your starting point forward to trap high-stakes events in backstory

Kristen Tate

scene study

Two tools for delivering backstory in Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore

May 31, 2025

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11 min read

Two tools for delivering backstory in Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore

How to balance telling and showing when delivering essential backstory

Kristen Tate

opening

May 18, 2025

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8 min read

How Charlotte McConaghy successfully breaks writing rules in the opening of Wild Dark Shore

Why powerful verbs, surprising juxtapositions, and unconventional choices create prose that wakes readers up

Kristen Tate

story structure

The narrative architecture of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

May 3, 2025

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13 min read

The narrative architecture of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

How three narrative strands create different intensity patterns and reader expectations

Kristen Tate

scene study

Worldbuilding in Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Apr 29, 2025

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10 min read

Worldbuilding in Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

How to choose between expository and scenic worldbuilding for different narrative goals

Kristen Tate

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