Story Structure Structure in your story is like the frame of a house. It both holds it together and gives it shape. Sometimes we creative types don’t appreciate the word structure. We may view it as something to stifle our imagination. However, structure doesn’t need to bind you, and it can be an essential tool […]
Writing Lesson 18 – Four Dialogue Tips from the Pros
January 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I love writing dialogue. When I start working on a story, it’s the things characters say to each other that begin sounding in my head. Improving the dialogue is one of the fastest ways to make your story better so let’s look at some tips from professional writers. All of the books I’ve read agree […]
Writing Lesson 16 – Picking Ripe Characters
December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Stories Start on the Brink of Change When you’re thinking about the characters for your story, choose ripe characters. Concoct a man who is on the brink of a choice. Or a woman who must make a moral decision, say between saving her job or exposing a lie. A ripe character stands on the precipice […]
Writing Lesson 12 – Creating Inner Conflict
November 13, 2009 By 2 Comments
Creating Emotion in Writing Almost every writing class or craft book will tell you the same thing: fiction must create a compelling emotional experience. The problem is these teachers also let you know that if your character cries, the reader probably won’t. So how do you build this emotion? Simply writing highly emotional phrases such […]
Writing Lesson 7 – Your Hero’s Outer and Inner Journey
October 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Hero’s Outer Journey A compelling hero takes two journeys in a story. The outer journey follows the plot line. It includes the goal, motivation and conflict we’ve already discussed. It begins with his goal and the steps he takes to reach that goal. Make sure you make the goal a seemingly impossible objective. A […]