Nesting Sub-Plots in Parentheses
Nesting sub-plots in parentheses: it’s a way to ensure all the plot threads are tied off in the course of […]
Plotting
Posts on plotting a story
Don’t mess up the ending
No matter how well you write your beginning and middle, don’t mess up the ending. The end of a story
Big Plot versus little plot
Sanderson’s lecture series makes much of Big Plot versus little plot. What’s the difference and why does it matter?
Romancing the Sub-plot
If the main character believes in destiny, are we still romancing the sub-plot? There’s a core problem with the main
Clarify Nothing until Act Two
“Clarify nothing until Act Two,” says the host of Escape the Plot Forest, Daniel David Wallace. According to writer and
Escalating Stakes Stack the Odds
Book Three of my fantasy series features an impossible mission, while escalating stakes stack the odds against my protagonists. Over
Restoring a Deleted Scene
Editing is a strange process, especially when you find yourself restoring a deleted scene. Listen to the audio version on
Hidden from the Reader’s View
A vital consideration in plotting your story: what is hidden from the reader’s view? Author and coach Susan deFreitas posed
Make Inciting Incidents Happen Sooner
Forget the old ‘rules:’ make inciting incidents happen sooner. The same conclusion I reached over a year ago came from
The Badly-Plotted Deus Ex
How many stories fall into the badly-plotted Deus Ex Machina ending? A miraculous resolution to a seemingly doom-laden ending, the