This month, I’m giving away two copies of Structuring Your Novel! To enter, all you have to do is tag me on Facebook or Twitter in a post that uses the hashtag #StructuringYourNovel. Winners will be announced in next month’s e-letter. Is Structure the Hidden Foundation of All Successful Stories? Why do some stories work and others don’t? The answer […]
September 6, 2013 by 19 Comments Structuring Your NovelWho Won the Structuring Your Novel Grand Prize?
First, I want to take a moment to thank you all for your support and enthusiasm for Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story. Thank you for making the launch a success! The book would never have reached #1 in the Writing Skills category in the Kindle store without you. I’ve already been […]
September 5, 2013 by 4 Comments Structuring Your NovelLast Chance to Enter the Grand Prize Drawing!
Thank you all for a great launch week for Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story. The book hit #1 in the Writing Skills category in Amazon’s Kindle Store on Sunday and has remained there all week. Just a reminder: today is the last day to enter the drawing for the three-tiered […]
March 10, 2013 by 63 Comments ProseMotivation-Reaction Units: Cracking the Code of Good Writing
What’s the secret to good prose? What makes it work—not just on the aesthetic level of vivid and poetic word choices, but on the deeper and ultimately more important level of functionality? In short, is good writing just all luck and gut instinct—or is there a method authors can learn to create clear and powerful […]
February 24, 2013 by 57 Comments Structuring Your NovelStructuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 12: Frequently Asked Questions
Once authors grasp Scene* structure, their whole approach to storytelling can become clearer and more refined. At first blush, it can be a subject that takes a while to fully grasp and, as a result, can spawn all kinds of questions. But all you clever Wordplayers seem to have caught on without so much as […]
February 17, 2013 by 18 Comments Structuring Your NovelStructuring Your Scenes, Pt. 11: Variations on the Sequel Scene
Sequels*, even more than scenes, offer all kinds of flexibility in scene structure. In large part, this flexibility is what can make sequels difficult to quantify in stories. Unlike the scene, sequels can be so subtle they blend right into the scenery. This can sometimes lead authors to believe sequels aren’t as important as scenes, but their flexibility […]
February 13, 2013 by 22 Comments Novel EndingsThe Biggest Problem With Trick Endings
Most readers love trick endings. How long have people been talking about The Sting or The Sixth Sense? And what author among us wouldn’t like to replicate that kind of excitement and memorability? But there is a big problem with trick endings. When they work, they’re amazing. When they don’t work, they make readers grumpy and […]
February 10, 2013 by 26 Comments Structuring Your NovelStructuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 10: Options for Decisions in a Scene Sequel
Perhaps the most instinctive of all the Scene’s* building blocks is the decision. This third and final piece of the sequel grows out of the character’s dilemma and leads right into the next scene’s goal. In scene structure, the decision is the little cattle prod on your story’s backside that keeps it moving forward. Conceivably, your characters […]
February 6, 2013 by 30 Comments Story SettingsHow Much Setting Description Is Right for Your Story?
Sometimes certain writing directions can make setting description sound like a bad thing, to the point that writers don’t dare include more than a skimpy paragraph of setting description lest readers cry foul and claim the book is boring. However, the far side of this slippery slope is also a pretty boring place. Setting is […]
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 […]
