Writing with Emotional and Intellectual Payoff
Writing with emotional and intellectual payoff not only draws in readers, but keeps them turning page after page. There are several types of emotional payoffs, as well as intellectual payoff, that are very effective when used appropriately. Writing with Nostalgia Some stories gain power by tapping into the emotions that we felt at a particular […]
Writing Powerful Scenes, Part 2: Beginning with Character
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 that “scene” and “seen” sound exactly alike. But as novelists, we don’t necessarily have the same kinds of “scenes” that occur in a play. A scene could, for example, consist […]
Writing Powerful Scenes, Part 1
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 scenes and sentences. In order for your story to be strong, you need to write strong scenes. I’m in the process of taking a screenplay from outline to first draft, […]
How to Write and Raise the Stakes More Effectively
Writers are repeatedly advised to “raise the stakes.” Stakes are often defined as what the character has to lose. But when you understand—more accurately—the relationship between plot and stakes, you can create them more easily. And when you understand—more accurately—how they actually work, you can raise them by using the methods in this article. How […]
3 Cliches Found in Story Openings
Story openings can be some of the most difficult passages to write. You must introduce a potential conflict, an immersive world, and interesting characters, but you’ll likely want to avoid some of the cliches that can lead to rejections and lost readers–at least when they aren’t handled exceptionally well. Here are three of the cliches […]
8 Tips on How to Write a Good Fight Scene
In many novels you will have a fight scene—everything from a verbal scuffle as two people break up to a major battle, and because this is often the climax to your story, you might want to approach the scene cautiously.
Boosting Your Prose – Part 1: Setting
I am currently in Denver but thought I would share checklists over the next few weeks that I use to go over each and every one of my stories to make sure that all of my stories are “up to snuff,” so to speak. I think that setting up your setting is something you need […]
Temporal Motion
People are attracted to motion, particularly physical motion. But when describing a setting, some things are pretty resistant to moving. Houses, mountains, trees, and so on remain static. You can work around that problem. You can put things in motion around a house, for example, or you can describe the motionless object using metaphors or […]
Seeing Yourself as a Writer
A lot of people have a hard time imagining themselves as full-time writers—and that is often the only thing that holds them back. You might be a lawyer, a dentist, a coal miner, or a waitress, and you define yourself as that. Yeah, you love writing, but you don’t think you’re free to write. You […]
Customer Acquisition 101
As a novelist, if you’re successful enough, you’ll someday discover that you’re not just a lady who types manuscripts in a coffee shop or a loner who composes novels in his underwear in his basement—you’re something more. You’re a major corporation. You create stories that you export on a global basis and sell in various […]