Killing Your Character(s)
We’ve all heard the advice as authors to “kill your darlings” but in her article, “How to Successfully Kill a Character: The Checklist,” K.M. Weiland shares her thoughts on when it’s a good idea to kill them, and when not. Check it out!
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, by Christopher Booker
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots This information is based on the 2004 book, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, by Christopher Booker. The Seven Basic Plots provides a Jungian-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for 34 years. It’s 736 pages in length. The Meta-Plot The meta-plot begins with the anticipation stage, in which the hero is called to the adventure to come. This is followed by a… Read More
The Internal Conflict Formula That Generates Plot Points and Strengthens Theme, by Lynn Johnston
From: http://savvyauthors.com/blog/index.php/the-internal-conflict-formula-that-generates-plot-points-and-strengthens-theme-by-lynn-johnston; March 10, 2015. Internal conflict is what happens when a character wants two things that are mutually exclusive. Sometimes the conflict will be something big: perhaps your heroine is in love with George but also lusts after Fred, and she’s unable to choose which man she wants to be with. Or maybe she’s a homicide detective, and she wants to build a case on the evidence, but she also wants to… Read More
The Current, by Donald Maass
From: http://writerunboxed.com/2015/12/02/the-current What about a novel sweeps us up into its world? What carries us along even when the imperatives of plot are on hold or absent? What makes us ache for something without knowing what it is? What makes us impatient for a story’s resolution at the same time that we want the tale to go on forever? What is it that causes us to feel that a story has touched our… Read More
How Outlining Can Bring Out Voice, by Gabriela Lessa
From: https://janefriedman.com/2015/08/24/how-outlining-can-bring-out-voice “I got some rejections where the agents said they liked the premise but it lacked voice. How do I fix voice?” As a freelance editor, I hear this question a lot from my clients. It’s something that seems to baffle authors. What exactly is voice? How do you see if your character has a voice? How do you fix it? The whole “it’s a subjective business” thing can be frustrating… Read More
The Second Draft, by Molly Best Tinsley
From: http://writerunboxed.com/2015/08/13/the-second-draft In ancient times, when I was trying to leap the genre divide between short fiction and the novel, an editor turned down my first, full-length effort with this explanation: “You have a lot of activity in these pages, but I’m not discerning the action.” As a plot-challenged, right-brain lover of language and quirky characters, it’s taken me years to wrap my mind around the difference. What my early novel lacked… Read More
Story Glue, by Anna Elliott via WriterUnboxed
I found this article interesting, and thought the rest of the Wordherders might too. In Story Glue, Anna Elliott discusses what makes her pick up a book in her limited reading time.
Mystery Story Structure, by Maureen McQuerry, based on Hallie Ephron
MYSTERY STRUCTURE — HALLIE EPHRON ACT I ACT II ACT III Introduction of the crime (mystery) and the sleuth Direct the investigation toward a conclusion which later proves to be erroneous.Change of focus and scope of the investigation. This is the pivotal point in the story where it become evident that the sleuth was on the wrong track. Something unexpected occurs, such as the appearance of a second body, the death of… Read More
Plotting the Mystery Novel, from ticket2write
From: http://ticket2write.tripod.com/id28.html The classic mystery is popular fiction which follows a specific formula. Clever writers may try to change the formula, but the most clever will cling to it for a very good reason. They work within the bounds of the formula because it works! The following outline serves the modern mystery novel, as defined by editors and publishers. A typical story will contain 60,000 to 65,000 words (205 manuscript pages) and… Read More
5 Questions You Must Immediately Ask Yourself Upon Finishing Your First Draft, by Voyage Media
From: http://voyagemedia.com/so-you-finished-your-scriptnow-what You’ve finished your script! Now what? Well, give yourself a pat on the back and take a moment to appreciate your labor of love… Now roll up your sleeves and make a fresh pot of coffee because it’s time to get back to work! The first thing you should do immediately upon finishing your first draft is think about your next draft, and that means asking yourself some tough yet necessary… Read More