Story Porn, by John Voorhaus
From: http://writerunboxed.com/2015/09/24/story-porn I’m in the outline/development stage of writing my next novel, a mystery/thriller called Stella Blue, and as I do with every major new writing project I take on, I have lately asked myself, “What do I want to learn this time?” It has become clear to me that my writing gets better, faster and is more fun (well, scary fun) when I’m out on the face of the wave between… Read More
How To Write Children’s Picture Books, by Tara Lazar
From: http://writetodone.com/six-best-tips-writing-childrens-picture-books “Anyone can write a children’s book!” Yep, that’s the response I get when I tell people I write for kids. “After all, they’re just kids,” they say with a flick of the wrist. As if kids are simpletons. As if kids don’t care what they read. As if kidlit publishers will buy any drivel. We know this is not true. Kids are smart, and picky about what they read. Publishers… 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
How Data Can Help You Write A Better Screenplay, by Walt Hickey of FiveThirtyEight
The data gods at Five Thirty Eight evaluated the success rate for thousands of screenplays submitted through The Black List and have distilled some interesting insights. For example… Hagen said novice screenwriters find writing good dialogue and characters particularly challenging. Genres that rely heavily on dialogue and characters — namely, comedies — tend to fare worse overall. On the other hand, niche dramas — particularly those set in a compelling time period, or at… Read More
Intensive, Two-Day Novel Writing Workshop by Michelle Hansen
Michelle is offering a two-day workshop on novel writing, with attendees receiving a 30 minute “Tapping Your Genius” coaching session from Michelle. Check it out!
How to Create Instantly (& Instinctively) Recognizable Characters; by Helga-Schier
From: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-to-create-instantly-instinctively-recognizable-characters Meeting characters in a novel is very much like meeting people in real life. When we start reading a book, it’s as if we moved to a new town and were meeting a whole bunch of new people at the same time. Your job as a writer is to create that town and populate it with characters that live their lives before our eyes.