Today, we’re going to talk about the lovely people who populate your stories and how you need to figure them out before you dive into their story. After all, you’re going to have a much easier time staying in character and moving these characters along to the climactic conclusion of their tale if you’ve spent time beforehand figuring out who they are….
Tweet I started the week talking about my short story class, and some of the challenges that come with providing feedback to our peers. The worst of it was talking about a sex scene buried in one of the many stories we’ve read so far. And, mostly, it was a whole lot of worrying over […]
Tweet I’m taking a short story class out at OU this fall. It’s the one I mentioned in the English department, where the professor claimed fantasy and science fiction stories don’t feature complex, compelling characters. Bah. That still makes me angry. I’m going to get myself in trouble in that class if I’m not careful. […]
Tweet I started the week with fond remembrances of cliff-diving without the water. And I started that post with a link back to other stories from my childhood, exploring the far forested acres of my parents’ farm. I blamed the recent nostalgia on my childhood buddy Josh, for mentioning some of those stories on Facebook, […]
Tweet I’ve spent a couple weeks trying desperately to finish up Taming Fire for publication this month. But last time we talked, it was about the questions that keep people reading your stories, and the big story question that drives your story forward. I said offhand that well-designed story questions and scene questions make it […]
Characters are like the paint samples of the world. Some of them are vivid. Some are pale. A select few are restful and pleasant to the reader’s eye the moment they step onto the page. Yet others look icky, no matter what light we cast them in. But they all need molding and clarifying, and that’s where the hard work starts…
Tweet In yesterday’s article I introduced the concept of sequels in classical scene structure. They act as a kind of transition, a moment of reflection, and (as I said at the end) they provide your protagonist with a critical opportunity to shine. I described the sequel as a progression: It starts with an emotional reaction […]
Tweet I love my job. Have I mentioned that? Well, let me mention it here and now: I love my job. I get to write, I get to read what my Writers Tribe writes, and I get to read all sorts of books in all sorts of genres. It’s exactly the job for me, and […]
Tweet We’ve been talking about “debugging” your book — about committing to a cover-to-cover review that will make up the first stage in your document’s rewrite. With any luck you’ve had enough time by now to catch your breath. With any luck, opening up the book no longer feels you with the anxiety and frustration […]
Tweet This week we’re talking about narrative scenes — the storytelling elements that clarify your characters and progress your plot. How Scenes Work As I said yesterday, every scene in your story must move your story forward. That can consistent of character-building, occasionally, and really only in the first act, but in most genres you […]
