If there’s a magic ingredient in writing, it’s story subtext. It’s actually not magic, of course, any more than any of the other demystified techniques of structure, theme, or character arc. But story subtext often seems like magic simply because, by its very nature, it is the execution of the unexplained. Subtext is supposed to be invisible. It lives […]
September 12, 2016 by 77 Comments Plotting Your NovelThe Only 5 Ingredients You Need for Story Subtext
April 24, 2013 by 21 Comments CharactersA Simple Trick to Create Three-Dimensional Characters
As much as you may love your characters, there’s never any guarantee readers will love them just as much. Think about it. There are so many awesome three-dimensional characters, in both film and literature, clamoring for people’s attention and affection. How do you make yours rise above the pack into memorability? This, of course, is […]
January 9, 2013 by 23 Comments Plotting Your NovelUse This Subplot to Bring Depth to Plot-Driven Stories
Subplots are surprisingly misunderstood. Primarily, this is because the best subplots are always natural offshoots of the plot itself. They’re so integral to the plot that they’re basically inextricable from it. Let me start with a basic definition of the subplot: The subplot is a thematically related exploration of a minor part of the protagonist’s […]
August 19, 2012 by 16 Comments DescriptionAdd Muscle to Your Fiction With Unity and Contrast
Our eyes see the world in shades of light and dark. Without one or the other, details fade into invisibility. The painting technique known as chiaroscuro (which as Lemony Snicket would say, is a big, big word meaning, quite literally, “light-dark”) makes full use of the contrast between light and dark to pull details into […]
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 […]
November 24, 2010 by 14 Comments Story SettingsAre You Utilizing Ugly Settings?
In lieu of the usual video post (as I continue my week off), I thought I’d share a reader’s response to the post “The Importance of a Fabulous Setting” from a couple weeks ago. David Taylor emailed me the following, and his thoughts were too good not to pass along: I watched your video and […]
October 31, 2010 by 16 Comments Narrative4 Questions to Improve Your Stories With Powerful Juxtaposition
An easy way to add depth to a story is to introduce one of the most marvelous techniques known to writers: juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is the art of contrast, the foundation of dichotomy, and the tool of both subtlety and boldness. In using juxtaposition, you are able to take two seemingly incompatible things and combine them […]
