Tag: story structure

Why Flashbacks Ruin Fiction

All of us will feel a NEED to explain why a character is moody, angry, broken, bawdy, whatever. DON’T. Resist the urge to EXPLAIN. In fact, if readers don’t know WHY, they will want to turn pages to find out WHY.

Your Novel in ONE Sentence—Anatomy of Story Part 5

In the world of screenwriting there is a tenet, “Give me the same, but different.” This axiom still holds true when it comes to novels.

Anatomy of a Best-Selling Story 3—Opposition

Ah, structure. We are discussing the fundamentals of story. No skeleton and our story is a puddle of primordial adverb ooze.

Anatomy of a Best-Selling Story—Structure Part One

Writers must understand structure if they hope to be successful. Yes, it might take five years to finish the first novel, but if we land a three book deal, we don’t have 15 years to turn in our books. Also, in the new paradigm of publishing, writers who produce more content have greater odds of making …

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Why Too Many Flashbacks Might Be a Warning of Deeper Story Problems

Today, I’d like to talk about WHY flashbacks can be red flags for me as a teacher or editor. I feel I can speak to this because when I started writing I was CLUELESS. My first novel is being used in GITMO because it is more effective than water boarding.