Cliffhangers. Even cooking shows do ’em nowadays. Ever watched Chopped? Just as Ted Allen’s lifting the cloche to reveal the dish that failed the round, Food Network jumps to a commercial. And you have to watch. No way you can go through the rest of the night without knowing who made the best appetizer out […]
July 13, 2011 by 25 Comments ForeshadowingKeep Slow Scenes Moving With Tension and Foreboding
Not every scene in your stories can be set at a fever pitch of excitement. Just like your own life, the lives of your characters need to balance the tense, dangerous, exciting moments with moments of calm reflection, everyday activities, and seemingly safe retreats. Without these slower scenes, your book runs the risk of feeling […]
May 22, 2011 by 45 Comments NarrativeThe Kung Fu Panda Guide to Writing Action Scenes
You don’t have to love kung fuuuuuuu to enjoy a good action scene, but you do need to understand the basics of the action scenes scene if you’re going to blind readers from overexposure to your action awesomeness. Fight scenes, chase scenes, and other action extravaganzas appear in stories of every genre, so consider the […]
May 18, 2011 by 35 Comments CharactersWhy You Should Spend More Time on Character Development Than Action
Authors sometimes feel pressured to dive right into the action of their stories—at the expense of important character development. Because the last thing we want to do is write a boring story, we sometimes overreact by piling on explosions, fight sequences, and high-speed car chases to the point we’re unable to spend important time developing […]
December 26, 2010 by 33 Comments Story Settings7 Reasons Weather Is a Writer’s Friend
Ever since Edward Bulwer-Lytton slapped readers with his infamous “dark and stormy night” line, writers everywhere have been leery of misusing weather in their stories. After all, who among us wants a contest for the worst opening lines in fiction named after us? But avoiding weather altogether is a mistake of its own. Weather offers […]
September 5, 2010 by 51 Comments Plotting Your Novel6 Do’s and Don’ts of Creating Mystery in Your Novel
Creating mystery in your novel is important in every type of story, not just mysteries and suspense. The last time you stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, what was it that transformed your normally practical, serene self into an obsessive page-turning maniac? I’m willing to bet this month’s royalties it was something […]
April 21, 2010 by 34 Comments Plotting Your NovelThe Top Trick for Heightening Story Suspense
Giving your characters a deadline—and suitably disagreeable consequences if they fail to meet it—ups the ante and keeps readers glued to your story suspense. Even better, it’s a super-easy trick to apply to your story! Your hero’s goal is what shapes your story. Without something he needs or wants, your hero just an interesting personality […]
April 7, 2010 by 26 Comments CharactersA Quick Secret to Secondary Antagonists
Much of the conflict in a story will comes in the form of people causing problems for your main character. The most obvious form of trouble is that presented by the antagonist, that supremely evil being whose sole purpose in life is to wreak havoc in the universe and cause problems for your MC. But don’t […]
March 11, 2010 by 25 Comments Beginning Your BookThe 4-Step Checklist for Your Story’s Opening Scene
Your story’s opening scene is always going to be tricky. It has to accomplish all kinds of goals in very little time and few words. Today, let’s look at the four things your story’s opening scene needs to check off its list–starting with the single most important one. The Most Important Job of an Opening Scene Arguably, […]
