Jessica Brody

Finally finish the first draft of your novel with a method that is designed to bring efficiency, speed, and joy to the process. Does it seem like you’ve spent so much time writing and are left only with a folder full of false starts? Stories you were so excited to write but then gave up a few chapters in or even halfway through? Are you trapped in an endless cycle of rewrites, self-doubt, and perfectionism? Enter fast drafting: a fool-proof method for getting your book out of your head and onto the page. Based on her popular course, Jessica Brody, author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, will guide you through the process of getting through a first draft as quickly (and messily) as possible so you can not only get the thing done but more importantly discover your story faster and get to the revision process with clarity. Jessica infuses the key elements of persistent forward momentum and invisible revising into her 3-phase approach: · Mindset: Overcome perfectionism and self-doubt · Preparation: Flesh out the details of your story · Drafting: Put everything together and write your first draft in the quickest way possible Within 30 days, you’ll gain the mental space and freedom to easily and more joyfully finish every project you start.

An indispensable guide in the bestselling Save the Cat story structure series that reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any young adult novel a success, from an accomplished novelist and the author of Save the Cat Writes a Novel. In Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel, prolific author and story coach Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story structure guide for anyone who wants to write a young adult novel by applying the famed Save the Cat screenwriting methodology to the world of YA fiction. In this book, you will learn: The fifteen beats (or plot points) that are necessary for crafting a successful story with a compelling character arc --including the Opening Image, Catalyst, Fun and Games, Bad Guys Close In, Dark Night of the Soul, and Finale The ten universal story genres that will help you drill into what makes your type of story work, including those most commonly found in young adult novels like Rites of Passage, Superhero, Buddy Love, Institutionalized, and Golden Fleece Quirky, original insights and writing tips like "Save the Cat," the "Shard of Glass," and the "Dark Night Epiphany," that help you craft a story that will thrill and captivate teen readers Filled with practical advice, easy-to-follow templates, and beat sheets analyzing the structure of popular young adult novels such as Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows, John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, and Lois Lowry's The Giver, this book is the ultimate reference for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing their own young adult bestseller.

When you can choose to be anyone, how do you know who you really are? From the author of Better You Than Me and I Speak Boy comes another fun and relatable book about new experiences and how staying true to yourself is the best way to be okay. Twelve-year-old Amelia Gray has changed schools thirty-nine times ( ) because of her dad's job, which doesn't leave a lot of time for making friends. But that's okay. Amelia loves her "life on the go" with Dad and their adorable supermutt, Biscotti. She's been in enough middle schools to know that friendships are messy, and who needs that? But when her dad announces that he wants to stay in their new town for the whole summer--maybe even forever--Amelia realizes she's going to have to do the one thing she's never had to do: fit in. So she gives herself not one but three total makeovers, to try out a few personalities and hopefully find her "thing." Is she Amie, a confident track star? Mellie, a serious journalist? Or Lia, a bold theater kid? Juggling three identities is hard, and Amelia soon finds herself caught in the kind of friendship drama she has always managed to avoid. Yet despite her best efforts, she still can't answer the most important question of all: Who is the real Amelia Gray?

Les Mis rables meets The Lunar Chronicles in this thrilling conclusion to the System Divine trilogy that's an "explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution" (Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series). An heir. A renegade. A convict. A cyborg. A d fecteur. Five rebels. One revolution. It's been three months since the Patriarche was beheaded, leaving behind no known heir. Now, the planet of Laterre is unrecognizable. General Bonnefa on has cleaned up the streets, fed the hungry, and restored peace while the next leader is decided upon. From the outside, Laterre seems to be flourishing. But dangerous rifts threaten to shatter the planet from within. The Red Scar has been killing off anyone with a legitimate claim to the Regime, while the Vangarde are preparing for the return of their infamous leader. Then, it's revealed that the Patriarche had a daughter who is still alive. A missing Paresse heir...Alouette has been locked in a secret facility for months, interrogated on the whereabouts of the General's renegade grandson. Marcellus is desperately searching for Alouette, knowing she's the key to the Vangarde's plan to overthrow the corrupt Regime, but unaware that he, himself, is being hunted by a new cyborg tasked with tracking down the planet's most wanted criminals. Meanwhile Chatine is growing restless, living underground with a rebel group she doesn't fit into. Until an old friend solicits her help to save the D fecteur community from a mysterious, new threat. A threat that will tie them all together. When the general makes an explosive play for power, allegiances will shift, rebels will become leaders, barricades will rise, and the tinderbox of Laterre will finally ignite, launching a revolution five hundred years in the making.

Les Mis rables meets The Lunar Chronicles in this thrilling conclusion to the System Divine trilogy that's an "explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution" (Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series). An heir. A renegade. A convict. A cyborg. A d fecteur. Five rebels. One revolution. It's been three months since the Patriarche was beheaded, leaving behind no known heir. Now, the planet of Laterre is unrecognizable. General Bonnefa on has cleaned up the streets, fed the hungry, and restored peace while the next leader is decided upon. From the outside, Laterre seems to be flourishing. But dangerous rifts threaten to shatter the planet from within. The Red Scar has been killing off anyone with a legitimate claim to the Regime, while the Vangarde are preparing for the return of their infamous leader. Then, it's revealed that the Patriarche had a daughter who is still alive. A missing Paresse heir...Alouette has been locked in a secret facility for months, interrogated on the whereabouts of the General's renegade grandson. Marcellus is desperately searching for Alouette, knowing she's the key to the Vangarde's plan to overthrow the corrupt Regime, but unaware that he, himself, is being hunted by a new cyborg tasked with tracking down the planet's most wanted criminals. Meanwhile Chatine is growing restless, living underground with a rebel group she doesn't fit into. Until an old friend solicits her help to save the D fecteur community from a mysterious, new threat. A threat that will tie them all together. When the general makes an explosive play for power, allegiances will shift, rebels will become leaders, barricades will rise, and the tinderbox of Laterre will finally ignite, launching a revolution five hundred years in the making.

Les Misérables meets The Lunar Chronicles in the out-of-this-world sequel to Sky Without Stars that’s an “explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution” (Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series).A traitor. A prisoner. A fugitive. Wanted by the Regime. Destined to save the planet. Laterre is on the brink of war. The Third Estate is rioting against the injustices of a corrupt system. The Patriarche, reeling from the murder of his only heir, makes brutal attempts to quash the unrest, while a new militant faction launches a series of deadly attacks. And three outlaws find themselves pulled into the fray... Marcellus is now a traitor to his planet, willing to do anything to stop his grandfather from seizing control of Laterre, even if it means joining the Vangarde, a rebel group back from the dead. Chatine is a prisoner on Bastille. Desperate to survive the harsh conditions of the moon, she becomes embroiled in the Vangarde’s dangerous attempt to free their infamous leader. Alouette is a fugitive who has been lied to her entire life. Searching for the truth about her mysterious past, she soon finds herself hunted by the Regime for reasons she’s only beginning to understand. But when Laterre is threatened by the emergence of a deadly new weapon, these three renegades must risk everything, traveling to the far reaches of the System Divine and into the white hot center of a planet ready to ignite.

A phone-obsessed twelve-year-old girl, frustrated by the cryptic boys in her life, discovers a magic app that can read boys' thoughts in this modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen. After a matchmaking attempt for her best friend, Harper, goes wrong, Emmy is fed up. Why are boys so hard to figure out? But then something amazing happens--she wakes up with a new app on her phone: iSpeak Boy Suddenly Emmy has the information every girl wants to know--the super-secret knowledge of how boys think . . . and who they like Now Emmy is using her magical app to make matches left and right. But can she use it to help Harper, the only person who doesn't seem to buy into Emmy's gift? And when her secret gets out and the app ends up in the wrong hands, can Emmy figure out how to undo the damage she's caused?

“Not to be missed!” —Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles “An explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution.” —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series In the tradition of The Lunar Chronicles, this sweeping reimagining of Les Misérables tells the story of three teens from very different backgrounds who are thrown together amidst the looming threat of revolution on the French planet of Laterre.A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny… When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes… Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet. Marcellus is an officer—and the son of an infamous traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette. Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos. All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

"I fell hard for this story of love, loss, friendship, and bad airport food. I loved it " --Morgan Matson, New York Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Everything Over the course of one chaotic night stranded at the Denver airport, Ryn confronts her shattered past thanks to the charm of romance, the uniqueness of strangers, and the magic of ordinary places in this "laugh-out-loud funny, deeply stirring" (Julie Buxbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things) novel from the author of Boys of Summer. Ryn has one unread text message on her phone. And it's been there for almost a year. She hasn't tried to read it. She can't. She won't. Because that one message is the last thing her best friend ever said to her before she died. But as Ryn finds herself trapped in the Denver International Airport on New Year's Eve thanks to a never-ending blizzard on the one-year anniversary of her best friend's death, fate literally runs into her. And his name is Xander. When the two accidentally swap phones, Ryn and Xander are thrust into the chaos of an unforgettable all-night adventure, filled with charming and mysterious strangers, a secret New Year's Eve bash, and a possible Illuminati conspiracy hidden within the Denver airport. But as the bizarre night continues, all Ryn can think about is that one unread text message. It follows her wherever she goes, because Ryn can't get her brilliantly wild and free-spirited best friend out of her head. Ryn can't move on. But tonight, for the first time ever, she's trying. And maybe that's a start. As moving as it is funny, The Chaos of Standing Still is a heartwarming story about the earth-shattering challenges life throws at us--and the unexpected strangers who help us along the way.

"Not to be missed " --Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles "An explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution." --Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series In the tradition of The Lunar Chronicles, this sweeping reimagining of Les Mis rables tells the story of three teens from very different backgrounds who are thrown together amidst the looming threat of revolution on the French planet of Laterre. A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny... When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it's now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun--a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes... Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet. Marcellus is an officer--and the son of an infamous traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he's vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette. Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years...and plunge Laterre into chaos. All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution--and together they will shape the future of a planet.

The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success. Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the finale--this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate--and a novel that will sell.

But when she hits her head and wakes up in the version of her life where she chose to attend the private school, she finds that it’s not as perfect of a world as she once thought.

The perfect summer vacation read for tweens A middle-school girl finds out that being a teenager isn't all it's cracked up to be in this realistic read about friendship with plenty of LOL moments--and a magical twist Seventh grader Addie Bell can't wait to grow up. Her parents won't let her have her own phone, she doesn't have any curves, and her best friend, Grace, isn't at all interested in makeup or boys. Then, on the night of her twelfth birthday, Addie makes a wish on a magic jewelry box to be sixteen . . . and wakes up to find her entire life has been fast-forwarded four years Suddenly she has everything she's always wanted (including a driver's license and a closet full of cool clothes) But Addie soon discovers a lot more has changed than she expected--including her friendship with Grace. Can Addie turn back time and take back her wish . . . or has she lost the chance to experience what could have been the best years of her life? "I Girl's Best Friend

Get swept away in this breezy beach read about love, family, and the true meaning of friendship. Meet the Boys of Winlock Harbor... Grayson Cartwright: Golden Boy. Football Prodigy. Troublemaker. Mike Metzler: Local Heartthrob. Surfer Boy. Hopeless Romantic. Ian Handler: Army Brat. Musician. King of Sarcasm. Best friends since they were kids, Grayson, Mike, and Ian were hoping for another epic summer on "The Locks", filled with clambakes, bonfires, and late-night swims in the ocean. But that was before Ian's dad never returned home from his last deployment. Before Mike had to take on more responsibility in order to help provide for his family. Before Grayson's accident left him with an injured throwing arm and an uncertain future. It's clear this summer on the island is shaping up to be very different from those Grayson, Mike, and Ian had come to rely on. And when the sacred code of dating a friend's sister or ex is broken, it will push their friendship to the absolute limit, testing their loyalties in a way that could either break them--or save them.

PLEASE READ THIS MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I'm sorry, I'm feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment. Here's the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I'm fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can't remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure. But see, that's why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That's right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else decide which book I read for English. And whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can't choose or have chosen for you--like who you fall in love with. And now everything's more screwed up than ever. But don't take my word for it. Read My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody and decide for yourself. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll scream in frustration. Or maybe that's just me. After all, it's my life.

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. You know do good things and you will be rewarded, do something bad and you'll get what's coming to you. But when Maddy's long-time boyfriend gets caught tongue-wrestling with Miss Perfect Body Heather Campbell, and they wind up the hot new couple at school, it seems like Karma is on a break. So Maddy and her friends decide to start the Karma Club a secret, members-only organization for dealing with messes the universe is leaving behind. They're just doing what Karma should have done in the first place, right?"