Plotting
Revising my novella, I discovered I’m writing about sisterhood as theme over Exceeding the MICE Quotient
My novella hit problems a while back, entirely from exceeding the MICE quotient. I tried to pack too much into a 20k novella, lost focus and… it didn’t work.
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Avoiding the Idiot Plot
Avoiding the Idiot Plot: in which characters behave like idiots. Logic and good sense go AWOL. Along with the reader’s patience.
Typically, Idiot Plots derive from non-communication and mis-communication amongst the characters. Often, in the Idiot Plot, one sentence could wrap up the entire thing before the end of Act One.
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A Solid Three-Stage Book Plan
How do you define a solid three-stage book plan without writing a single line of the novel? Abigail Perry presented her Three Stages of a Solid Book Plan at this years Perfect your Process Summit.
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Scene and Story Goals
What is the difference between scene and story goals? What happens when these don’t align? Do they exist in your novel?
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Revision Planning with Troy Lambert
One of the sessions of last year’s writers’ summits covered revision planning with Troy Lambert. At Daniel David Wallace’s Revising and Editing Workshop, Lambert presented a solid and concise approach to revising a novel.
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Cure Sagging Middle Syndrome
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome?
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Five Plot Clichés to Avoid
If there genuinely are no new stories, only new twists, then what counts as plot clichés to avoid? From Booktuber Alyssa Matesic’s short list comes a rich seam of super-clichés found in fiction.
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Surprise versus Suspense
Surprise versus suspense: what’s the difference? And why does one make for more engaging writing than the other?
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Dan Wells’ Seven-Point Story Structure
Dan Wells’ Seven-Point Story Structure came from the author’s 2010 BYU presentation. Taking his cue from the Star Trek Roleplaying game Narrator’s Guide, wells utilised the Seven-Point Story Structure as a plotting and outlining tool.
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