Our eyes see the world in shades of light and dark. Without one or the other, details fade into invisibility. The painting technique known as chiaroscuro (which as Lemony Snicket would say, is a big, big word meaning, quite literally, “light-dark”) makes full use of the contrast between light and dark to pull details into […]
Search Results for: subtext
July 22, 2012 by 25 Comments Structuring Your NovelHow to Discover the Purpose of Every Scene in Your Story
In creating meaningful and effective scenes, the most important questions writers should ask are: What is the focus of this scene? What is its purpose? Let’s a take a look at how to find the best answers to these questions. How to Find Your Scene’s Purpose Scenes are created in one of two ways. 1. […]
March 30, 2012 by 10 Comments DialogueWhen Arguments Are a Good Thing: Conflict in Dialogue
Most authors and their readers will agree that nothing beats a good bout of dialogue. Witty, poignant, romantic, angry—it’s all good. We all love it when characters open their big mouths and let fly. But creating good dialogue isn’t as easy as saying the first thing that pops to mind. Good dialogue is all about […]
March 28, 2012 by 32 Comments BackstoryHow to Tell if You Should Show Your Character’s Backstory
In other recent posts, we’ve discussed the value of backstory, even to the point of writing your backstory as your story when it’s the more interesting of the two. But generally speaking that’s going to be the exception to the rule. Backstory is actually at its most powerful when we don’t tell it—or rather when we don’t […]
December 21, 2011 by 17 Comments CharactersHow to Write Strong and Silent Characters
One of fiction’s great archetypes is that of strong and silent characters. You know the type: broad shoulders, tortured past, Clint Eastwood squint. He doesn’t say much, but, hey, since he oozes charisma out of every pore, he really doesn’t have to. But how do you convince readers of your character’s supposed strength, when his […]
August 21, 2011 by 72 Comments CharactersCaptain America’s 10-Step Guide to Writing a Likable Hero
Make me like your characters, and I will follow them to the center of the earth. I will fight with them in the trenches. I will slog through bogs, brave tsunamis, and face down volcanoes for them. If I like your characters, I won’t just read your book, I’ll ache when it’s over, buy it […]
July 11, 2011 by 3 Comments Writer's Help6 Ways to Strengthen Your Writing by Making Your Reader Your Co-Writer
Authors can save themselves a lot of work just by remembering they have a partner in this storytelling game: their readers. Literature, more than any other art form, is a collaboration between writer and reader. The writer provides the building materials—the plot, characters, dialogue, and details—which readers then use to construct a visual and auditory […]
June 19, 2011 by 11 Comments Writing LifeSave Readers From Boredom: 5 Fool-Proof Preventatives
The bored reader is the writer’s worst nightmare. Angry readers we can tolerate—some writers even cultivate them—because anger at least indicates emotional involvement. Boredom, however, indicates only apathy. The scary part of all this is that we don’t always realize when we’re being boring. I once turned over to a beta reader a handful of […]
May 22, 2011 by 45 Comments NarrativeThe Kung Fu Panda Guide to Writing Action Scenes
You don’t have to love kung fuuuuuuu to enjoy a good action scene, but you do need to understand the basics of the action scenes scene if you’re going to blind readers from overexposure to your action awesomeness. Fight scenes, chase scenes, and other action extravaganzas appear in stories of every genre, so consider the […]
April 6, 2011 by 48 Comments Beginning Your BookDo You Need a Prologue? One Way to Tell
Do you need a prologue? This question confronts authors in every story they write. Unfortunately, in large part because authors don’t always understand the true function of prologues (and epilogues), the answer often results in unnecessary padding. So can how can you tell when you need a prologue in your story? And when don’t you need […]
