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:
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how-to
Five Components of Dialogue
Among the takeaways from Brandon Sanderson’s writing course are five components of dialogue. People talk, it’s a vital part of human communication. But writing good dialogue in fiction isn’t easy. Just watch ten minutes of Rings of Power.
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Introducing the Cumulative Sentence
It’s a rare item of writing craft that finds me introducing the cumulative sentence.
I had a “progressive” education, which meant I wasn’t taught grammar and punctuation or any of the glue that binds language together. I’ve had to discover it for myself. That goes for the cumulative sentence. Stick with me, it’s not that technical. You might even like it.
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Conventions of the Action Genre
Writing a fantasy series, there’s no way I can ignore the conventions of the Action genre. A solid action piece has to include some mandatory ingredients of plot, character and theme. Scratch the surface and you’ll find I write all the tropes of a classic Western. With swords.
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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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Six Essential Questions For Writing
Emmy-winning screenwriter, script doctor, and writing coach Glen Gers sums up twenty-five years experience with his six essential questions for writing. Don’t look away; Gers’ rules apply to any writing of fiction, documentary and even non-fiction not just to screenwriting.
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More Scenes in Each Chapter
Working through a reverse outline of Book One, I’m breaking down the action of the novel as part of the story edit. The revelation of this exercise is there are more scenes in each chapter than I thought.
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Troubles, Decisions and Consequences
Worry not, no personal woes here; we’re plotting troubles, decisions and consequences in fiction. Another guest lecturer on Sanderson’s BYU Creative Writing course, author Brandon Mull sets out his approach to character and plot.
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