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When Friends Become Enemies and Enemies Become Friends Challenging your protagonist with obstacles adds intrigue and engagement for readers. Reversals, where what appears to be one thing turns into something else are great obstacles to throw at your protagonist. Just when the reader thinks they know, a reversal pivots the story. The protagonist experiences an…
Politics and People: Story Conflict Root Character and conflict are at the heart of story. These story elements are as important in historical fiction as they are in any other genre.Characters are modeled on human beings. Because human nature is a given, as an author you have a wide spectrum of character traits to play…
What can seem like writer’s block can be a story structure problem. Learn how to get going again.
StoryShop the Creative Planner for Novels I’ve been using StoryShop since I started as a beta tester in June 2016. I love it! I’m a big believer in planning before you write and StoryShop is a creative tool for brainstormers like me. StoryShop allows me to capture and idea. That’s great because writers have ideas….
The Mini-Story that Builds Your Novel Each scene is a building block to your story. And, each scene is a mini-story with the same components as the main story. A central character An obstacle A setting An emotional arc A beginning, middle, and end But the scene has one more function: Move the story forward…
Tips to overcome writer fear to get back to your story.
First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!– Ray Bradbury The Writer’s Surprise Gift Writer’s know when they are in the zone and the story flows. If you use an outline to hit the main beats of your story, you’ll know what you want to accomplish in the scene.Your characters may be…
L—d! said my mother, what is all this story about? The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Laurence Sterne When readers begin your story, they want to know certain elements, and very soon. Gone are the days when the scenic, lingering beginning of Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native will draw in a…
Brainstorm First, Organize Later Writers want a story that is unlike any other. Brainstorming your scenes is a creative way to capture the essence of your story. The ideas go straight from your head into story scenes. Use old-fashioned 3×5 cards, tools like Scrivener, or just list them out in a document. Keep adding scenes…
Hook Your Reader Now Image attribution eflon The first page of your book is that first impression that doesn’t get a second chance. Whether your reader is a bookstore browser or an agent, the first page is the introduction to the story. Key elements of that introduction tell the reader about the story. Tone –…
