"A few years ago, Open Culture readers listed Slaughterhouse Five as one of your top life–changing books. But Kurt Vonnegut was not only a great author. He was also an inspiration for anyone who aspires to write fiction – see for example his 8 rules for writing fiction, which starts with the so–obvious–it's–often–forgotten reminder never to waste your reader's time.
In this video, Vonnegut follows his own advice and sketches some brilliant blueprints for envisioning the 'shape' of a story, all in less than 4 minutes and 37 seconds."
