Characters have to want something, right? That’s the whole point of a story. The protagonist wants something; the antagonistic force gets in the way; conflict ensues. Bing, bang, boom. So it’s totally a no-brainer to point out that a book in which a character lacks solid story goals is a book that’s not going to […]
September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment Structuring Your NovelIs Plot or Character More Important?
Today, I’m guest posting on Mythic Scribes with a post titled “Is Plot or Character More Important?” Here’s an excerpt: “Plot or character”—we hear it all the time, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Either your book is plot-driven or character-driven. Can’t possibly be both, right? And anytime we run afoul of an either/or conundrum, […]
August 20, 2013 by 2 Comments Structuring Your NovelAction and Reaction in Plot: The Building Blocks of Story Structure
Today, I’m guest posting on Jody Hedlund’s blog, with the post “Action and Reaction in Plot: The Building Blocks of Story Structure.” Here’s an excerpt: Sometimes writers get a little freaked out by the idea of story structure. Too complicated, too confining, too vague. This is ironic, since structure, when properly understood, actually simplifies the […]
July 24, 2013 by 27 Comments Plotting Your NovelHow to Shock Your Readers—in a Good Way
You want to give readers everything they’re hoping for when they pick up your story. Somewhat contradictorily, one of the things they’re hoping for is to be shocked. Readers love it when authors surprise them. Backbones straighten up, mouths fall open, breaths get sucked in, heart rates speed up. It’s awesome! (As a writer, the […]
March 27, 2013 by 16 Comments Plotting Your NovelYour Secret Weapon Against Story Coincidences
Coincidences may be charming enough in real life, but in fiction, they’re a fast track to wrecking your readers’ suspension of disbelief. A clever rule of thumb is that it’s all right to use a coincidence to get your characters into trouble, but never to get them out. This not only rules out deus ex […]
March 1, 2013 by 30 Comments Writing InspirationHow to Dig for Your Best Story Idea
This post is by Carrie Spencer. I remember the first manuscript I wrote—after I decided to become a romance writer. Do you? I was forty-seven, had a decent command of the English language, and thought, For as many romance novels as I’ve read, this should be a piece of cake. I should have thought, a piece of tripe. Oy. […]
February 27, 2013 by 19 Comments Plotting Your NovelEpisodic Storytelling? Here’s Why
The term “episodic” is rarely a compliment when used for a novel. What it usually indicates is a herky-jerkiness to the plot, a lack of cohesion, and an overall story arc that doesn’t pull together into a concerted theme. Not exactly what most of us are striving for. What we want is for the plot, […]
December 12, 2012 by 32 Comments CharactersWhy Stupid Characters Make Stupid Stories
In a previous post, I talked about how readers will put up with just about any flaw in a character except cowardice. But that isn’t the entire truth. There’s another character flaw readers loathe—and that is stupidity. Now it’s true readers will forgive this flaw up to a point. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has to […]
August 12, 2012 by 107 Comments Plotting Your Novel6 Ways to Pull Off Dual Timelines in Your Novel
Some stories are so complicated they require not just one, but dual timelines to tell everything. Often, this is the result of an intricate and integral backstory, such as we might find in Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood or Ann Brashares’s My Name Is Memory, which switch back and forth from a “present-day” […]
April 25, 2012 by 27 Comments Plotting Your NovelDoes Your Story Need Subplots?
We’re always hearing about subplots. But what exactly are they? And does your story really need subplots? In a nutshell, a subplot is just a miniature plot that features a sideline story. If your story is about an escaped convict who’s trying to prove his innocence, your main plot is going to be his escape, […]
