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. […]
January 18, 2015 by 95 Comments DialogueGet Rid of On-the-Nose Dialogue Once and For All
Know what sets apart the okay writers from the great writers? Subtlety and subtext. This is true in absolutely every area of storytelling, from narrative to plotting to character development. But the lack of subtlety and subtext is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in dialogue. I’m talking, of course, about on-the-nose dialogue. When I pick up a potential […]
June 1, 2011 by 14 Comments Plotting Your NovelHow to Use Comedy and Tragedy for a One-Two Punch
In his “Letter to a Young, Talented Author,” dramatist William Saroyan offers this advice: Remember to be good-humored. Remember to be generous. And remember that in the midst of that which is most tragic, there is always the comic, and in the midst of that which is most evil, there is always much good. Nothing […]
December 26, 2010 by 33 Comments Story Settings7 Reasons Weather Is a Writer’s Friend
Ever since Edward Bulwer-Lytton slapped readers with his infamous “dark and stormy night” line, writers everywhere have been leery of misusing weather in their stories. After all, who among us wants a contest for the worst opening lines in fiction named after us? But avoiding weather altogether is a mistake of its own. Weather offers […]
