Although some successful novels feature lone-wolf characters who face the world and its challenges by themselves, clever authors will sidestep the pitfall of leaving a main character without someone to talk to for the majority of the book. Your protagonist’s fellow conversationalists can be varied and multitudinous over the course of the book—but usually, you’ll […]
July 11, 2010 by 52 Comments Outlining Your Novel6 Reasons a Premise Sentence Strengthens Your Story
All stories begin with a premise (a battle in space, two people falling in love, a dog getting lost). But, often, the original conceptions are hazy and unformed. Sometimes, they’re not even a premise sentence, so much as the what-if question that will lead to a premise. What if a little boy’s brain grew too […]
June 6, 2010 by 63 Comments Beginning Your Book5 Ways to Maximize Your Story’s Inciting Event
The Inciting Event is the moment your character’s world is forever changed. It knocks over the first domino in the line of dominoes that forms your plot. It sets off an irrevocable chain reaction that will eventually lead your character to the maelstrom of your Climax. So how do you go about creating an Inciting […]
April 28, 2010 by 19 Comments Plotting Your NovelTake Full Advantage of Your Story’s Premise
How many times have you been thrilled by a book’s amazing plot idea—only to be disappointed because the author never took advantage of the full potential of his story’s premise? Coming up with plot ideas? Easy. Setting the characters in motion? Also easy. What’s also regrettably easy, however, is watching helplessly (and sometimes obliviously) as the […]
April 7, 2010 by 26 Comments CharactersA Quick Secret to Secondary Antagonists
Much of the conflict in a story will comes in the form of people causing problems for your main character. The most obvious form of trouble is that presented by the antagonist, that supremely evil being whose sole purpose in life is to wreak havoc in the universe and cause problems for your MC. But don’t […]
March 28, 2010 by 29 Comments CharactersDoes Your Story Have the Extraordinary Factor?
Readers want fiction to be extraordinary enough to thrill them with its strangeness and excitement. But they also want it be ordinary enough for them to find aspects they can relate to. How’s a writer supposed to pull off this apparent paradox? How do you make your stories both ordinary and extraordinary? Is Your Hero Ordinary […]
December 27, 2009 by 45 Comments Chapter Breaks10 Killer Chapter Breaks
Chapter breaks are do-or-die territory for novelists. You may be spinning a grand ol’ tale, full of fascinating characters, but if your chapter endings leave readers no reason to turn the page to find out what happens next, all your hard work on the other aspects of your story will be wasted. Not every chapter […]
November 8, 2009 by 51 Comments Editing Your Novel6 Reasons Not to Listen to Your Critique Partners
Your critique partners, critters, alpha readers, beta readers, proofreaders, editors, loyal slaves and subjects—whatever you want to call them, they’re a vital part of any author’s arsenal. No matter how talented and studied we may be, we’re always going to need an objective pair of eyes to look at our work and point out the […]
September 13, 2009 by 63 Comments Beginning Your BookThe “Establishing Shot”–and 9 More Ways to Strengthen Your Story’s Beginning
Just for the record: I hate beginnings. The first fifty pages of my novels are inevitably torture to write. I’m always sure I’ve lost my touch, convinced that every successful story in the past was a fluke, absolutely certain I’ll never make these opening scenes gripping enough to hook a reader. And it’s no wonder. […]
June 28, 2009 by 43 Comments CharactersCharacters: Likability Is Overrated
Writers want readers to love their characters. We want them to connect with the men and women who inhabit our stories. We want them to empathize so strongly that they are moved to laughter and to tears right along with these imaginary people we’ve created. So, naturally, we want our characters to be as likable […]
