Reddit reviews Story Engineering

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks should be able to help. The author explains elements of story structure common to most novels and films so you can apply the same structure to your own story.

I use a beat sheet based roughly on Larry Brooks' Story Engineering method. I'll write a detailed paragraph for each scene for the first 25% (up to the first plot point), and then an idea of each of the major elements thereafter. Once I've got the first 25% in a first draft, I'll do a detailed scene outline and flesh it out from there.

For the second draft, I go through and make sure that all my scenes do their job, and that I don't have anything that is dragging. A good, rough reference for this is this scene structure article, which has helped me out a lot.

For the third and subsequent revisions, I go through and really focus on my prose. I nail down the dialogue as best as I can. This is one of the places where your beta readers are invaluable.

I read this book early on, and it really helped me put the pieces in the right spots. Getting structure figured out early frees you up for learning the fun stuff like characterization, etc.

Another place for instant info on structure is http://cockeyedcaravan.blogspot.com/, although it's a bit advanced.

And here is a super basic run-down of how movies are structured. Novels can have a slightly different structure, but scrolling down and reading about a bunch of stories you already know helps you get a feel for the reader's expectations.
http://thescriptlab.com/component/abc/?view=alphabetical&task=&catid=131&Itemid=152
http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/five-plot-point-breakdowns

KM Weiland's blog is helpful.

Also, Story Engineering by Larry Brooks will get you on the right path. Most stories follow the three act structure, or even more simply, three disasters and a conclusion.