Want versus Need
In trying to write better characters, it’s taken me a while to define want versus need. Writing coaches bang on about these all the time, but what do they mean and why are they important?
…
Character
Second Act Pinch Points
From Act One ingenue to Act Three veteran, your second act pinch points are the key. Character arcs simply don’t work without them.
…
The Revelation of Misbelief
Book One stalled for a while because I didn’t know how to handle the revelation of misbelief. In my defense, I didn’t acknowledge the place of misbelief in story telling.
…
The Proactivity Scale
A key question in fiction: where does your protagonist sit on the proactivity scale? Do they pursue goals beyond the everyday? Survival or escape by themselves aren’t active goals. Something has to drive change and transformation, to become better by the end than they started at the beginning.
…
Imperfect Heroes are Better
When it comes to engaging readers, imperfect heroes are better.
Put another way, perfect heroes are dull. Imperfect heroes are better because they have doubt, they have conflict, they have the capacity for failure. Perfect heroes are boring. Don’t believe me?
…
What Immediately Matters?
Whatever the genre, the author has to decide what immediately matters. What’s the emotional core of the story?
Hold back on the world-building. Cancel the info-dump. Readers don’t care about your world unless you give them characters to care about first. This is how story works. Pile on the world-building before the characters and what you have is a setting, not a story. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Middle Earth, St Mary Meade or Pemberly.
…
Cure Sagging Middle Syndrome
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome?
…
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:
…
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.
…
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?’
…