Hello and welcome! Today’s question is from Grace Clay who asks: I would like more advice about transitions, please. In particular, transitioning out of big set pieces. The best books—well, my favorite books—tend to follow up their massive orchestral scenes with something a little more contemplative to let the audience catch their breaths, but how […]
September 26, 2022 by 20 Comments Chapter BreaksHow to Use Chapter Cliffhangers in Your Fiction
We all want to write stories that keep readers turning pages into the wee hours of the morning. We want readers to reach the end of a chapter and be gripped with an undeniable need to keep reading. We want to them take a look at the clock and promise themselves, Just one more chapter—and then […]
August 4, 2017 by 27 Comments NarrativeHow to Write Your Characters’ Actions with Clarity
Have you ever tried to watch an old film? Not a digitally remastered edition or a corrected copy, but a genuinely old film, silent and sepia-toned. Some frames are misplaced or backwards. Some aren’t there at all. You can follow the action well enough, filling in the gaps where they appear—but that doesn’t mean you […]
September 26, 2016 by 95 Comments Chapter Breaks7 Questions You Have About Scenes vs. Chapters
A chapter is a chapter and a scene is a scene. Or are they? What’s the differences between scenes vs. chapters? Are they ever the same thing? Must a chapter always be a complete scene? Or must a scene always be a chapter? What about scene breaks and chapter breaks? Is there a difference? These […]
November 16, 2015 by 38 Comments Chapter BreaksHow to Write Can’t-Look-Away Chapter Breaks (What I Learned Writing Storming)
Chapter breaks in novels are like the Becher’s Brook jump in National Velvet. That’s where the bodies pile up. Many a book has been declared dead to its reader and cast aside never to be remembered–and all because the reader reached a chapter break and didn’t care enough to keep reading. That’s the bad news. The […]
April 29, 2015 by 23 Comments Chapter BreaksThe Lazy Technique That Can Cripple Suspenseful Chapter Endings
This week’s video offers an example of what might seem to be a great technique for chapter endings, and then shows you why it’s lazy and how to make it fantastic instead. Video Transcript: Do you know what’s the most dangerous part of your book? Try chapter endings. These are subliminal signals to your […]
October 31, 2014 by 28 Comments Chapter Breaks4 Ideas for Ending Book Chapters So Readers Will Kill to Know What Happens Next
Good book chapters are like bad treasure maps. They will lure you in. They will lead you through uncharted territory. Yet, at the end, they will not yield the treasure—they will just make you want to continue the search. What Is the Structure of Book Chapters? Ideally, each chapter will cover an event, a character, or […]
September 5, 2014 by 30 Comments Plotting Your Novel3 Secret Functions of Your Book’s Chapter Titles
As a writer, you’re already aware of the power of your book’s title to identify its genre, allude to its subject matter, and create that first shiny hook to catch a reader’s eye. A title is your chance to stop the feet or finger of a hungry browser in a bookstore or online and to convince him […]
February 10, 2014 by 6 Comments Outlining Your NovelHow to Make the Right Decisions for Your Book
Today, I’m guest posting over on Write to Done, with the post How to Make the Right Decisions for Your Book. Here’s an excerpt: How can authors know which choices are right for their novels? When you first sit down at your desk and start typing words into the delicious white blank of your computer […]
April 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment Chapter BreaksAre Your Scene Breaks Rude?
Aside from making certain chapter and scene breaks are scintillating enough to keep readers reading, most writers don’t give scene breaks too much thought. But we should. Chapter and scene breaks can often show a lack of courtesy from the author toward the readers. And if shunning those good manners your mother drilled into you […]
