The sequel*—the second half of the Scene—sometimes gets shortchanged. But it is every bit as important as the scene, since it allows characters to process the events of the scene and figure out their next move. The sequel is the reaction half of the action/reaction pairing. This is where introspective moments, quiet conversations, and character development occurs. Even though […]
October 31, 2012 by 19 Comments Plotting Your NovelAre You Skimming Your Story’s Potential?
It’s not enough to write a story that just covers its bases. By that I mean a story that essentially works—it’s properly structured, the prose is professional, and it possesses all the working pieces (plot, character, etc.). You can check all the boxes on your story checklist and still end up with a story that […]
September 16, 2012 by 11 Comments Plotting Your NovelThe Most Crucial Ingredient for Solid Story Conflict
Conflict is the life’s blood of fiction. Conflict means something is happening. Conflict brings change. And there’s also the little matter of human nature’s voyeuristic fascination with other people’s confrontations. “No conflict, no story” is a rule of fiction familiar to even the noobiest of noob writers. We’re told to pack in the conflict. Make […]
August 26, 2012 by 42 Comments Plotting Your Novel5 Ways You’re Blocking Readers From Suspension of Disbelief
Unlike non-fiction or memoir, the whole point of fiction is that it isn’t true. Or rather, that’s half the point. The other half is that this untruth is constructed in the pattern of truth, in order to shine a light on the reality of our lives. As per Picasso: Art is the lie that tells the truth. Readers […]
June 10, 2012 by 16 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Non-Reactive and Over-Reactive Characters
Half of what your character does in your story is going to be reaction. Fiction is all about pushing and pulling. Your antagonist pushes your protagonist, and your protagonist moves away, considers the situation for a moment, then pushes right back. That’s reaction. That’s the essence of fiction. It’s what makes the dominoes fall. But […]
April 15, 2012 by 12 Comments Structuring Your NovelThe Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 8: The Second Half of the Second Act
Now that we’ve passed the midpoint, things are starting to heat up in our story. The second half of the second act is where your plot really starts popping. Your main character caps the dramatic event at the midpoint with his decision to stop reacting and start acting. Almost always, this is born of a personal revelation, even […]
April 1, 2012 by 26 Comments Structuring Your NovelThe Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 6: The First Half of the Second Act
Every segment of a story offers its own challenges, but perhaps none leaves writers more bewildered than the second act. Beginnings and endings are tough to get right, but at least we have a checklist of things to accomplish. The middle of the story, on the other hand, is a yawning blank. We feel like we’re entirely on our […]
November 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment PodcastAction and Reaction in Scene Structure: The Two Pistons Powering Your Story
Your story is a precision machine. If you were to take the shiny cover off this machine, what you would find inside would be an intricate mass of nuts, bolts, gears—and an engineer only knows what else. At the heart of it all, you’d find two huge pistons running the show. One of those pistons […]
