For the past month, we have been discussing story structure. Part I of this series introduced the novel on a micro-scale. Part II explored the big picture and offered an overview of common plot problems. Part III introduced the most critical element to any novel, the BBT. Each of these blogs builds upon the previous lesson, so if you …
Tag: characters
Nov 15 2010
Structure Part 3–Introducing the Opposition
Welcome to Part III of my Structure Series. If you happened to read Friday’s blog, then you know that it is okay not to know everything. I still don’t. I do want to take a quick segue here, though. I think a lot of people might have seen the title to Friday’s blog The Big Lie—No …
Nov 12 2010
The Big Lie–No More Drinking the Publishing Cool-Aid
Writers, I don’t know if you have encountered the Big Lie, but I have. There seems to be this weird belief that great writers are born. We believe that if we made As all through high school and even college that we have this magical gift that just needs to be unleashed. We believe that …
Nov 01 2010
Structure Part 1–Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters
Want a way to stand out from all the other writers clamoring to get an agent’s attention? Want to be a best-selling author with stories that endure the tests of time? Learn all you can about the craft, particularly novel structure. Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly …
Oct 25 2010
Setting–Adding Dimension to Your Fiction
For those who follow this blog regularly, first of all—THANKS! If you are new, Monday is the day that I blog on the craft side of things. I have worked as a freelance writer and editor for going on ten years and all the craft blogs are based off almost a decade of experience. Wednesdays’ …