Organic themes are symbiotic with their stories’ plots. This is because when everything is working well in a story, plot and theme are two halves of a whole, each one “proving” the other. When plot and theme are not working together, that’s a sure sign your story is in trouble. Theme can be a tricky […]
January 23, 2023 by 70 Comments Editing Your NovelYour Story Isn’t Working? Here Are 6 Problems to Troubleshoot
If you’re here because you feel your story isn’t working, you’re not alone. Most writers feel that way about most of the stories they write. The good news is you can probably salvage your current story by troubleshooting a few key areas. One way to learn how to accomplish this is to learn what didn’t work […]
October 3, 2022 by 15 Comments Novel EndingsHow to Pull Off a Plot Twist
Readers love a well done plot twist. They like to have the rug skillfully pulled out from under their feet at the last minute in a way that changes everything they understood about the story, while simultaneously making them see everything with perfect clarity. One of my favorite romance authors, Kristen Heitzmann, gives us some clues […]
August 29, 2022 by 23 Comments Plotting Your Novel7 Tips for How to Add Complexity to Your Story
So you want to add complexity to your story. Most authors do. Complexity just sounds so… sophisticated. It sounds like one of those novels or films that are taken apart and analyzed by really smart critics and professors. It sounds like taking your story to the next level. And in some ways, it is. Complex […]
August 22, 2022 by 54 Comments Plotting Your NovelIs Your Story Too Complicated? Here Are 9 Signs
Calling a story “complex” is a high compliment. But what is complexity? How can we learn how to write stories that are complex—without skidding across that narrow dividing line into complicated? What’s the difference between a complex story and a complicated story? And is your story too complicated? This a topic I’ve spent quite some […]
June 27, 2022 by 37 Comments Characters8 Ways to Avoid Cardboard Characters (and Plot Contrivances While You’re At It)
“The plot was contrived, and the characters were cardboard.” Ouch. That’s about as bad as it can get when it comes to negative story reviews. It’s also perhaps one of the most common complaints audiences have about stories. Certainly, it’s one that irritates me the most! Here’s the thing though: cardboard characters often cause plot contrivances—and […]
May 23, 2022 by 36 Comments Plotting Your NovelDeepening Your Story’s Theme With the Thematic Square
How can you deepen your story’s theme? This is a question most writers find themselves asking at one point or another. And there are many answers. As an inherently abstract concept, theme can be approached from many different directions—and still feel hard to get at. But as one of the most important factors in creating […]
April 11, 2022 by 53 Comments Plotting Your Novel14 Tips for Dealing With the Passage of Time in a Story
The passage of time in a story is, in some ways, what fiction is all about. But for most authors in most stories, the passage of time won’t necessarily be an explicit consideration. If I asked you right now how much time passes in your latest story, would you know off the top of your […]
March 28, 2022 by 36 Comments Plotting Your Novel6 Ways to Craft Spectacular Set-Piece Scenes
What are set-piece scenes? They’re the big ones. They’re the scenes that define your story, not just in terms of plot mechanics, but particularly in terms of scope and impact. These are the scenes your audience will remember when they think about your story. They’re the scenes they’ll remember even when they’ve forgotten everything else about […]
March 21, 2022 by 23 Comments Plotting Your Novel3 Questions to Make Sure You Aren’t Missing Out on Important Scenes
For one reason or another, it can sometimes be tempting to avoid writing certain important scenes. Issues that are difficult emotionally or that we have to expend extra effort to research properly may be issues we’d just as soon write our way around. But doing so is usually a fast and easy way to frustrate […]
