Thirty-eight Elements of Story
The writer’s software ‘Fictionary’ works on thirty-eight elements of story. It’s a long and thorough list of goals, objectives and […]
Structure
Posts on story structure
Story in Seventeen Beats
Another classic story-telling framework is the story in seventeen beats. It makes for fast-paced stories and works well across genres. Seventeen
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
The Midpoint of Freytag’s Pyramid
I accidentally hit the midpoint of Freytag’s pyramid. It sounds like a plane crash, but it’s a story-telling device that
No Ordinary World
None of my stories do what the craft books say; there’s no Ordinary World opening for my protagonists.
The Seven-point Short Story
For my series’ short story, I’m turning to the seven-point short story structure. Why seven? And what are they?
Hidden Secrets of Engaging Scenes
To understand the basic unit of storytelling, the author must know the hidden secrets of engaging scenes. The novel simply
Restoring a Deleted Scene
Editing is a strange process, especially when you find yourself restoring a deleted scene. Listen to the audio version on
Embracing Scene Structure in Story
Embracing scene structure in story took me longer than it should. While I recognised the scene as the basic unit
The ScriptShark Critique Sheet
I rediscovered the ScriptShark Critique Sheet from 2009. It’s another useful tool by which to evaluate your manuscript. Listen to