Sisterhood as Theme Over Plot
Revising my novella, I discovered I’m writing about sisterhood as theme over plot. Who knew? Not me, it began as […]
Plotting
Posts on plotting a story
Exceeding the MICE Quotient
My novella hit problems a while back, entirely from exceeding the MICE quotient. I tried to pack too much into
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
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
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
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
Cure Sagging Middle Syndrome
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome? Listen to the audio version on
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
Surprise versus Suspense
Surprise versus suspense: what’s the difference? And why does one make for more engaging writing than the other? Listen to
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