Characters, Conflict and Consequences
Author and writing coach Joe Nassise brings us The Three C’s of Story: Characters, Conflict and Consequences.
His analysis is so simple, it approaches genius. Nassise lays out three elements: …
Character
More Troubles with Prequels
With a prequel novella in the works for my fantasy series, I’m finding more troubles with prequels.
Prequels naturally take place before a story that’s already written. This could be two centuries (House of the Dragon), or a few days (Rogue One). The core problem with prequels is the ‘before-ness’ of the story.
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Where Story Lives and Breathes
Lisa Cron guested on a podcast last year discussing internality and backstory, where story lives and breathes.
Listening back to Joanna Penn’s interview from 2021, writer and coach Lisa Cron asked ‘why does story matter in every book we write, no matter the genre?’
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Decision-making and Agency
Here is the difference between passive and active characters; decision-making and agency.
Passive characters meander through a story while stuff happens to them and all they do is react. Proactive characters take decisions and make stuff happen for themselves.
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Crafting Distinct Voices
Crafting Distinct Voices sets nine questions designed to tease out a distinctive voice for individual characters. Given the sparse dialogue I’m writing in my fantasy series, any prompts are worth considering.
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Galadriel’s Study in Psychopathy
I worked out the central premise of Amazon’s Rings of Power: Galadriel’s Study in Psychopathy.
I resisted talking about this because it’s become mired in gender politics almost as toxic as Republicans versus Democrats. Let’s ignore the politics and call it what it is: bad writing.
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The Character’s Core Wound
According to the late teacher and script doctor Peter Russell, the character’s core wound powers the story. Writing and speaking extensively on TV and film scripts, Russell advocates a character-first approach to storytelling.
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Endearing Female Protagonists
Comparing the wildly popular Black Widow and the (unfairly in my view) not wildly popular Captain Marvel. Then looking at who I have in my fantasy series.
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Completing a Character Arc: Misbelief
This week I found the key in completing a character arc: misbelief. It followed two years of writing, ignoring that my protagonist wasn’t working.
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Everyman Saves the Day
Why do we so love the stories in which Everyman saves the day? Recalling a previous post, the Everyman – or in my stories, Everywoman – is a character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average reader.
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