Six Essential Action-Genre Story Beats
What are the six essential action-genre story beats? The lack of which strips the novel of both genre and story?
how-to
When YA Tropes Turn Toxic
They are the mandatory elements of the genre, but what happens when YA tropes turn toxic? Are we offering impressionable
Overpowered by Coincidence
Ever read a novel and concluded the plot is overpowered by coincidence? A chance meeting in the middle of a
A Ten-point Story Audit
Here’s a ten-point story audit that only takes a few minutes and could save your novel in the early drafting
The Early/Late-Wide/Closeup Opening
Can you start a story with the early/late-wide/closeup opening? Or is that impossible?
Eight Lessons from the Edit
If you want less pain the next time you work on a novel, you have to learn lessons from the
Six Essential Elements of Story
The closest I can give you to a writer’s cheat sheet: the six essential elements of story. Among the many
Three foundations of plot: Promises, Progress and Payoffs
Three foundations of plot: Promises, Progress and Payoffs. These are Brandon Sanderson’s three P’s from his 2020 BYU writing course
Fantasy Genre Tropes We Love and Hate
Reading more widely, I shouldn’t be surprised at the number of fantasy genre tropes we love and hate. A trope
Watching the Word Budget
Long-form or short-form, a writer’s always watching the word budget. At a writer’s seminar, master of short stories Mary Robinette