What are some good hooks for your opening chapter? This is a question every writer must ask at the beginning of a story. How can we introduce the story and the characters in a plot-pertinent way that also deeply interests readers? A good hook sets your book apart. It promises readers you’re going to deliver […]
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March 9, 2020 by 32 Comments Beginning Your BookCritique: 6 Tips for Introducing Characters
Most of the time, I hate real-life introductions. For one thing, I almost always forget the person’s name in the rush of shaking hands, smiling, and saying something charmingly banal. Then there’s the small talk, important but often tedious. Squirm. But that’s most of the time—because occasionally I run into one of those special people […]
February 3, 2020 by 33 Comments Structuring Your Novel6 Steps to Create Realistic (and Powerful) Scene Dilemmas
Scenes are the building blocks of your story. As go your scenes, so goes your story. If the scenes present a solid chain of deliberate structure, that’s what your story will be. But if too many scenes lack focus or dramatic impetus, so will the story. Every aspect of scene structure is important. Any aspect […]
October 21, 2019 by 65 Comments CharactersA Writer’s Guide to Understanding People
“Write three-dimensional characters.” “Bring your characters to life.” “Create realistic human experiences.” These ditties of writing advice are so common they’re almost clichés. But how can you fulfill these dictums to write “real characters” without first mastering the even more foundational principle of understanding people? Recently, I received an email from a reader, which raised […]
September 16, 2019 by 34 Comments DialogueCritique: 10 Ways to Write Excellent Dialogue
For many people, dialogue is the heartbeat of fiction. As arguably the only true form of “showing” in written fiction, it offers an inexhaustible source of energy for dramatizing characters, catalyzing conflict, and enhancing every available opportunity for entertainment. That’s why it’s so important to take full of advantage of dialogue, and that’s why we’re […]
August 19, 2019 by 73 Comments CharactersHow to Tell if Your Story Has Too Much Plot, Not Enough Character
Can a story have too much plot? It might surprise you (especially if you’re a regular reader of the site), but the answer is absolutely, yes. Implicit in the question of too much plot is the idea that a story should have more of something else. Usually that something else is character. This is where we […]
June 24, 2019 by 50 Comments NarrativeCritique: 4 Ways to Write Gripping Internal Narrative
The old joke about how “the book was better than the movie” is a reflection of several attributes written fiction offers over visual fiction. One of the main ones is the ability to get inside characters’ heads via internal narrative. Narrative, by its very nature, is narrated by someone. Usually, that someone is the protagonist. […]
June 17, 2019 by 77 Comments Plotting Your Novel5 Ways to Earn Your Audience’s Loyalty
Part 22 of The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel There’s little in this cosmos that writers want more than our readers’ love and respect. We want them to buy our stories, love our stories, tell their friends about our stories, buy more stories, support us in style for the rest of our lives, […]
June 3, 2019 by 63 Comments Plotting Your NovelHow to Write Interesting Scenes
Here’s a secret about storytelling that many writers overlook. An interesting plot isn’t what makes an interesting story. Interesting characters aren’t what make an interesting story either. In reality, a story is only as interesting as its scenes. That sounds almost too obvious to think about. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it too specifically myself […]
April 1, 2019 by 39 Comments Characters5 Ways to Use Theme to Create Character Arc (and Vice Versa)
What’s the easiest way to find your story’s theme—and make it stick? Although any discussion of theme is multi-faceted, one of the best ways to approach this complex topic is through the realization that you can use theme to create character arc—and vice versa. When asked to explain what a particular story is about, some […]
