Every story will contain certain scenes that anchor the entire narrative. These moments, whether they’re high-octane battles or budding romances, constitute the beating heart of their stories. Authors need to be wary not to summarize their best scenes into mere montages. Readers want to be immersed in your characters’ evolution, which means your ability to […]
February 3, 2013 by 11 Comments PodcastStructuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 9: Options for Dilemmas in a Scene Sequel
If the first part of your sequel*—the reaction—appeals to your readers’ emotions, the second part is all about the intellect. Once your characters’ first-blush emotional responses to the previous scene’s disaster has passed, they will have to get down to the all-important business of thinking about what they’re going to do next. The previous disaster has […]
January 13, 2013 by 21 Comments Structuring Your NovelStructuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 6: Variations on the Scene
The great thing about structure is that it provides a solid framework for your story, while still presenting endless possibilities. This is just as true of the Scene* as it is of the larger plot structure that guides your story as a whole. Now that we’ve concluded our exploration of the first part of the […]
October 7, 2012 by 36 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Skipping the Best Parts of the Story
The fastest way to frustrate readers is to write everything but the good parts of a story. You’d think this would be a no-brainer. After all, as story aficionados ourselves, we’re presumably writing the story because of the good parts. The action, the romance, the comedy, the drama. We can’t wait to get it on paper, and readers can’t […]
April 11, 2012 by 25 Comments NarrativeHow to Show the Passage of Time in Your Novel
The passage of time is one thing all stories have in common. In some stories, such as “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, maybe only a few minutes pass. In some novels, such as James Michener’s Centennial, decades pass. In some books, we may even see millennia go by. But no matter how much time […]
February 9, 2011 by 32 Comments NarrativeThree Places Where You Should Tell Instead of Show
Amid all the demands for authors to show, instead of tell, it can be easy to forget telling is still a vital part of any story. There are moments when summarizing is a decidedly better choice than dramatizing. The Reverse of the Medal, the brilliant eleventh installment in Patrick O’Brian’s esteemed Aubrey/Maturin series, offers several examples […]
August 11, 2010 by 42 Comments Plotting Your NovelHow to Spot and Leave Out the Parts That Bore Readers
Skipping the parts that bore readers should be a no-brainer. And yet this a surprisingly common pitfall. Why? To some extent, writers struggle with know what will bore readers—mostly, because we don’t all agree on what is boring. Lengthy battle scenes turn some readers off, long descriptions are dreaded by most, and I even ran across one reader […]
