[Just a short post today, so I can put some energy into a super-secret project I can’t wait to share with you all. Hint? It has to do with two of my favorite things: dreamzoning and archetypal character arcs. Stay tuned! I hope to do the big reveal no later than October.] At first glance, […]
May 1, 2023 by 34 Comments BackstoryThe Backstory Drip (Backstory Techniques, Pt. 3 of 3)
What are the best backstory techniques you can use in your story? Over the past two weeks, we’ve been discussing some of the options writers have for sharing backstory in their stories. So far, we’ve talked about four specialized techniques, analyzing their respective advantages, disadvantages and best-use practices: Flashbacks Prologues Backstory-as-Story Alternating Timelines All four […]
October 12, 2020 by 71 Comments PodcastThe Link Between Your Story’s Pinch Points
Of all the paired structural beats in a story, the Pinch Points are perhaps the most obvious. There are only two of them, they have the same name, and they perform essentially the same function in both their first and second iteration. They’re also perhaps the least known and most confusing of all the major […]
October 28, 2019 by 40 Comments How to Become a WriterHow to Know Which Parts of Your Story Readers Will Like Best (It Isn’t Always What You Think)
You want readers to like your story. You want to give them something to love on every single page. But it’s so much easier said than done. How can you know—really know—which parts of your story readers will like and which will have them yawning and skipping ahead? So many stories, in all mediums, hit […]
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, […]
November 12, 2018 by 81 Comments Beginning Your Book5 Ways to Successfully Start a Book With a Dream
Don’t start a book with a dream. This has become one of those bits of writing advice that has passed into legend, right along with “show, don’t tell” and “write what you know.” There are so many good reasons for this. Dream openings are notorious for being boring, irrelevant, misleading, and cliched. As a “fake” opening, […]
April 23, 2018 by 32 Comments Beginning Your BookYour Ultimate First Chapter Checklist, Pt. 3: Introducing the Story
The reason the first chapter of a story is so complex is because it bears a triple load of responsibility. First, it must hook readers. Then it must offer a compelling and interesting scene of its own. And finally, it must set up the entire story to come. Today, let’s dive into our third and […]
November 13, 2017 by 25 Comments How to Become a Writer5 (Not-So-Little) Additions to the Great Novel-Writing Checklist
Learning how to write a successful novel is largely a matter of memorizing and mentally tracking the vast number of “parts” that make a story run. Honestly, this alone is sometimes the hardest part of the entire job. There’s a lot to remember—which is why, today, we’re going to look at the second part of our […]
February 6, 2017 by 64 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 56: Unfulfilled Foreshadowing
Sometimes writing feels like magic. You look back at the story you’ve created and it seems like it came from beyond you. One of the coolest examples of this is with foreshadowing. Some little something you wrote in the early chapters without even thinking about it ends up being a huge clue or bit of symbolism […]
September 9, 2016 by 85 Comments ForeshadowingThe Right Way and the Wrong Way to Foreshadow a Story
Part 11 of The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel Really, your job as an author can be summed up in one simple word: control. It is your responsibility to control readers’ experience of your story, to make them think and feel very specific things. One of the most important and powerful ways in which […]
