In medias res is the useful but sometimes tricky writing technique of beginning your story “in the middle” of things. At its most basic, this is simply a solid reminder to begin your story with something happening. This might be action in the traditional sense, but it might also just be the character moving toward […]
January 31, 2022 by 75 Comments Plotting Your NovelConflict in Fiction: What It Really Is and Why It’s Important to Plot
Conflict is one of the central engines of story. We’ve all heard it: no conflict, no story. On the surface, that makes total sense. But I find there can be a lot of confusion around the word “conflict.” What is conflict in fiction really? What is its purpose? What does it look like in a […]
October 25, 2021 by 38 Comments Plotting Your Novel6 Questions to Help You Avoid Repetitive Scenes
It takes a lot of scenes to make a novel. Not only do we need enough scenes to progress the plot and get the characters from Point A to Point B, we also need to reach a certain word count so the book can be a novel. (Or the movie can be a movie. Ya […]
November 16, 2020 by 53 Comments Podcast5 Questions About Scene Sequences
In many ways story structure is a fractal pattern. The same patterns we find on the macro level of the entire story arc also repeat themselves, within an ever-tightening spiral, from scene structure all the way down to sentence structure. Somewhere in between story and scene, we find scene sequences. Within the story’s larger narrative, […]
August 10, 2020 by 61 Comments PodcastCritique: 4 Ways to Write Sequel Scenes That Grip Readers
Scene structure asks for a one-two punch pairing of action and reaction—or as Dwight V. Swain named them in what has come to be considered “classic” scene structure, scene and sequel. The need to write sequel scenes, the reaction half of the equation, is sometimes overlooked and misunderstood. This is unfortunate, since the reaction phase […]
July 13, 2020 by 47 Comments Structuring Your NovelAn Intuitive 4-Step Process for Creating Vibrant Scene Structure
Creating scene structure is a key writing skill. Great scenes go a long way toward great storytelling; weak scenes result in weak storytelling. Unfortunately, many writers often struggle with vague, sometimes contradictory approaches to writing scenes. A scene should be a complete narrative unit. It should involve a relatively small number of primary characters—except when […]
April 27, 2020 by 68 Comments Writing Life15 Productive Tasks You Can Still Do Even When You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Don’t feel like writing right now? Or maybe you don’t have the time? Or maybe you’re just blocked as all get out at the moment? Whatever the case, there’s no reason you can’t still use what time and motivation you do have to feel productive about your writing—because “writing” is really about a whole lot […]
October 14, 2019 by 53 Comments Plotting Your NovelThis Is How to Transform Info Dumps Into Exciting Plot Reveals
Clues, mysteries, plot reveals, and plot twists—these are some of a writer’s stock tricks for hooking readers page after page. But as important as these tricks are, when they’re asked to bear the load of being the main attraction for readers, they too often turn into boring info dumps. Imagine you’re reading a story in […]
June 3, 2019 by 63 Comments Plotting Your NovelHow to Write Interesting Scenes
Here’s a secret about storytelling that many writers overlook. An interesting plot isn’t what makes an interesting story. Interesting characters aren’t what make an interesting story either. In reality, a story is only as interesting as its scenes. That sounds almost too obvious to think about. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it too specifically myself […]
March 25, 2019 by 46 Comments Narrative4 Pacing Tricks to Keep Readers’ Attention
Part 21 of The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel Stories live or die on their pacing. Great characters and concepts are the heartbeat of good fiction, but even the greatest can struggle to keep readers’ attention if the pacing is off. Pacing is a lot like tone. It varies depending on the type […]
