A complete analysis of the first Harry Potter book, scene by scene, with details of how it follows the storygrid guide to plotting.
 

I heard some of the information in this book through the author’s podcast and various events surrounding its release, and the rest of the book doesn’t disappoint. The in-depth analysis of each scene made me think of my own writing and how it should hook the reader, and keep readers interested throughout. While the analysis itself was very clinical and easy to follow, I found that it probably wasn’t necessary to repeat the definitions of each component for every scene, which often took up a full page on my screen. Still, I understand that it must be intentional, and because it’s best to digest the information over several sessions, might be a good reminder after a pause. Her notes were extremely interesting, and contain details that spill over the rest of the book and series, bringing everything together. The real gem here is the masterwork spreadsheet, which summarized everything at a (scrolling) glance. Looking it over before reading a group of scene analyses helped with my global understanding. Finally, the introduction had some very helpful hints on how to write a scene, and how to intertwine different story elements, a lot of which is also covered in her podcast episodes, but nicely brought together in one place here.

I’ve been listening to Savannah’s podcast for almost a year, now, and it’s allowed me to think about how to write, where I’ve always written by instinct. I know what I like to read, and I express those opinions in this forum on this website. I’m just as critical, if not more so, with my own writing. I’ve never studied “craft”, as it’s called, and just this taste has given me the opportunity to think about plotting and character arcs, not to mention story arcs. I’ve discovered a lot of this independently, over a lot of time and effort. I’m sure it would have been easier in some ways to learn the craft of writing first, but I also wonder if it would have inhibited some of what I wanted to do with my books.

The introduction of this guide gives us a plotting framework, from dividing the book into four parts, each with its own inciting incident, progressive complication, crisis, climax and resolution. It shows the way a story ebbs and flows, ensuring a reader continues reading, and wants to continue turning pages long into the night! I’m not interested in sorting through my current draft to find all of these elements, but I’ll take the big picture and apply it as best I can, and I’m sure my story will be the better for it. This is my way in all things. I’m interested in taking her class, too, but am not quite ready at this point in my writing.

The best part of this book, however, is the explicit examples of each component, which takes up the majority of the pages. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone, most chapters are a single scene, but some can be analyzed as more than one. While a scene is normally defined as about 1500 words, most scenes in this book are above 3000. While I’ve thought of the concepts the author describes in her podcast, it was always theory, as Theme and Value Shift are extremely fluid concepts. But here, she presents the value shift as per her analysis, and the concrete examples allow us to realize that these shifts may not be as grand as the theory implies. Something as simple as deciding to ask for more information or remaining silent can be seen as a value shift –it doesn’t always have to be life-changing.

I’m not sure if the repetition of the definitions in each and every scene was necessary, but I’m sure it was deliberate, especially since the book is best digested over a long time, and those reminders would probably come in handy. Reading the book over a single session will not give the reader any real insight. Thinking about it is what will make writing better based on this analysis. While I wasn’t prepared to put the book down after each scene analysis, I did often stop to think about whether I could understand the reasoning.

For me, the biggest draw is the spreadsheet that accompanies the online version of the book, which summarizes the major aspects, including the results of the framework analysis. Seeing in one place (with a bit of scrolling) the chapters as they fit in the framework was illuminating, especially the five elements of the four story divisions: the Beginning Hook, Middle Buildup, Middle Breakdown, and Ending Payoff. To me, that was even bigger than the individual analysis.

Not only did the author give specific analysis on how the story framework was satisfied, but she also gave notes on each of the scenes, pointing out red herrings, setup, payoff and more, and not just for this book, but for the series. Did Rowling know how each character and detail was going to pay off seven books later? Maybe, but probably not. It’s tempting to wait until the entire series is complete before attempting to publish, just to get the setup right, but the author points out, rightly so, that it doesn’t have to be right immediately. However, it’s important to put in enough details that they can be used later in a series.

I’m impressed with the concrete examples, which are the heart of this book. Some of it I already heard summarized in some of Savannah’s podcasts, or in the book release bashes she held, so I already knew her opinion on them. I found a few typos, but that’s also normal in the first printing of a book of this size.

I think this will be a great reference for my next books, and to balance out my current one.