Strong stories are built through meaningful scenes. Write stories that have meaning by tapping into subtext or theme, or by adding your own insight. Very
Have you ever read a novel where the entire book lacked a single element that was original? Sure you have, lots of times. Whenever you
Once, I picked up a novel by a new writer and started to read. His scene construction looked fine at first glance: He had a
When writing strong scenes, conflict is key. If there is no conflict, the “scene” probably doesn’t contribute much to the story. Every story needs conflicts
Though a scene can have a dozen different types of virtues, it must take place in some type of location, and truly unforgettable scenes don’t
Historically, a “scene” was a set on a play. It consisted of the setting in which a dramatic exchange took place. It’s not a coincidence
How To Write Powerful Scenes A story is made up of both large components, such as try/fail cycles and denouements, and small components, such as
Very often as a reader, I’ll come across a story that is well written in many regards: The characters have strong voices. The setting is
The last 40% of your novel should be epic! When people read your climax, they should want to memorize your name and buy all of
Your story begins when you have a character (likeable or not), in a setting (interesting or not), with a problem (and it darned well ought to be a doozy). My mentor Algis Budrys said that as a rule of thumb, if a writer doesn’t have that by page two, then the story most likely isn’t sellable. He’s right. The stories that do well in my competition are the ones that grip me from the first page to the last.