Boil fiction down to the essentials and what you find at the core is the main character’s desire for something. What your characters want is what fuels them through page after page of conflict. You’ve undoubtedly heard the saw that without conflict, there is no story. But without frustrating the character’s ability to get whatever […]
October 4, 2010 by 14 Comments Writing Inspiration10 Ways to Learn How to Brainstorm
Waiting around for inspiration to hit you in the head with a lightning bolt is… dangerous. Go after it with a harpoon and a fishnet! One of the best ways to do that is to learn how to brainstorm. As I talk about in my book Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration, some ways of brainstorming are […]
August 18, 2010 by 12 Comments Beginning Your BookHow to Strengthen Your Story With Proper Framing
Framing is a useful, but too often overlooked, technique that gives your story a sense of cohesion and directs readers’ loyalties and attention. What Is Framing? Frames bookend a story with a definitive opening scene (that introduces readers to pertinent characters, settings, and themes) and a closing scene (that brings the story to a resonant […]
July 25, 2010 by 30 Comments Writing InspirationWhap! Pow! Zing!—How Can You Tell if Your Story Has Emotional Resonance?
The magic ingredient in fiction is that special something that socks readers right in the gut and leaves them breathless with joy or sorrow (or maybe wabi-sabi, the Japanese view of beauty in imperfection). We’ve all read books that were perfectly executed, but somehow lacked that magic. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed the word craft […]
July 18, 2010 by 39 Comments CharactersHow to Find Powerful Motives for Your Characters
You will often be judged by what you do. To a large extent, you are what you do. However, because others’ perceptions of your actions don’t penetrate to the reasons behind your actions, you will often be judged incorrectly, or even unjustly. It’s no different for your characters. In a book, as much as in life, a person’s […]
July 14, 2010 by 24 Comments Chapter BreaksHow to Use Scene Breaks to Cut Your Story’s Fat
Avoiding excessive word count is a weighty consideration for any writer, but most particularly in order to keep unnecessary fat from weighing down your stories. Here’s a quick trick for using scene breaks to both cut the fat and make it seem like you’ve cut the fat. Fat takes many shapes, everything from repetitive dialogue to […]
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 […]
July 7, 2010 by 38 Comments Point of View3 Guidelines to Determine if Your Book Has Too Many POVs
Point of view—frequently referred to as POV—allow readers to see the story through the eyes of a character. In most instances, a skillful use of POV limits the story to only what is apparent to the POV characters. As a result, writers are sometimes tempted to include as many POVs as possible in an attempt […]
June 30, 2010 by 29 Comments Story SettingsUse All 5 Senses to Bring Your Setting to Life
Unlike movies, which are inherently visual and auditory, your written fiction depends solely on your power of description to evoke reaction of the senses from your readers and bring your setting to life. This is tricky business, since you want to bring the scene to life, but you don’t want to bore readers with lengthy explanations. So […]
June 27, 2010 by 43 Comments ThemeShould Stories Offer Messages?
Should stories offer messages? Common wisdom insists fiction is meant to entertain, not preach. The novel isn’t a soapbox for religious, political, social, or philosophical views. If you try to use it as such, you’re likely to sacrifice your stories and alienate your readers. And yet, ironically enough, many of the world’s greatest and most […]
