I Was Just Writing a Novel, So Why Am I Using the Art of War?

“I’m Just Writing a Novel, So Why Am I Using the Art of War?”: A Practical Thirty-Six Stratagems Handbook for Novelists

Do you ever feel this way?

You’ve read so many novels and followed so many hits, but when it’s your turn to write, your mind goes completely blank. The story is as flat as plain water, the plot only moves forward because the protagonist gets stupid, and halfway through, even you can’t keep writing.

Maybe what you’re missing isn’t writing talent, but a usable framework of techniques.

This book doesn’t talk about airy notions like “writing inspiration” or “innate talent.” Instead, we bring the Thirty-Six Stratagems into the writing process. How can “Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea” be used when a protagonist conceals their identity? How can “Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao” build a subplot twist that turns the main plot around? How can “Murdering with a Borrowed Knife” give supporting characters in an ensemble story their turns in the spotlight?

Each of the Thirty-Six Stratagems is a plot model tested over thousands of years.

By the end, you’ll see that novel writing follows patterns and can draw on the art of war.

Here’s what you’ll get from this book:

36 plot models you can use right away, covering everything from the opening to the climax and the ending

Learn to work backward from the “mind-blowing twists” in classic works and uncover the strategic logic behind them, so you can recreate them yourself

The ability to diagnose a plot problem in a single sentence, making writer’s block seem less like a mystery

A narrative toolbox that will make readers exclaim, “This plot is incredible!”

Just writing a novel? Exactly.

But a novel written by someone who understands strategy is a different book from one written by someone who doesn’t.