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 […]
Plotting
Posts on plotting a story
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
Turning Points and Plot Points
All story structures include turning points and plot points. Whether it has seven, seventeen or twenty-four chapters, somewhere in that
More Troubles with Prequels
With a prequel novella in the works for my fantasy series, I’m finding more troubles with prequels. Prequels naturally take
Where Story Lives and Breathes
Lisa Cron guested on a podcast last year discussing internality and backstory, where story lives and breathes. Listening back to
Conventions of the Action Genre
Writing a fantasy series, there’s no way I can ignore the conventions of the Action genre. A solid action piece
Every Story Asks Questions
Not the obvious ‘how does it end?’ but something more basic; every story asks questions. ‘What’s is about?’ isn’t really