Acting out the First Act
Acting out the first act is the only way of knowing if your novel opens the right way. There is […]
Structure
Posts on story structure
The Difficult Second Book
If the first book was a whirlwind of inspiration, then the difficult Second book is like a rock band’s “difficult
Second Act Pinch Points
From Act One ingenue to Act Three veteran, your second act pinch points are the key. Character arcs simply don’t
Calculating the MICE Quotient
Mary Robinette’s ingenious short story technique raised a reader question about calculating the MICE Quotient. Listen to the audio version
Essential Components of a Scene
Building a story at the scene-level, we have to understand the essential components of a scene in order to give
Work in Scenes Not Chapters
Why should authors work in scenes not chapters? The answer: focus. Don’t take my word for it, this is the
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
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
The Skeleton Draft
Navigating a path from start to finish of a novel can be hard for both plotters and free-writers; enter the
Cure Sagging Middle Syndrome
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome? Listen to the audio version on