Plot. Plot. The word that sends tingles of excitement and fear up and down your spine. This month (March, 2016) we’ll be covering the ins and outs of this frightening-and-simultaneously-exciting facet of creative writing. First, we’ll discuss plot as a whole (lesson #3 and lesson #4). Then we’ll get into the nitty-gritty and discuss beginnings […]
Conflict
Lesson #5: Beginnings (Act One)
About Beginnings The beginning of a story – and especially a written manuscript – is probably the most important part of the skeleton to catch your reader’s attention. If a reader does not like the beginning of a book, most of the time he/she will put it down. It’s very rare that a reader, reading […]
Lesson #6: The 3 Best Hints for a Fantabulous Beginning
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning (A Very Good Place to Start) In Lesson #5, we talked about the elements of Act One, or the beginning. The beginning of your story is the best – and often the only – place to hook your readers, grab their attention, and make them care about your story. […]
Lesson #7: The Sagging Middle
Where To? Now that you’ve got your attention-grabbing beginning, it’s time to look at the Act Two – more commonly known as Mr. Middle. Mr. Middle tends to have a sagging belly; and he’s known for dragging on and on and boring his listeners. So for Lesson #7, we’re going to cover some techniques to […]
Lesson #8: Middle Structures
Check out the accompanying YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gYTsjMa0SI Throwing Rocks Pretty much every writer would benefit from listening to that wonderful, age-old advice: “get your hero up a tree and throw rocks at him.” Well, Act One is where you get your hero up a tree; Act Two is where you throw rocks at him. These […]
Lesson #9: Elements of a Good Ending
Well, in the past two weeks we’ve discussed beginnings and middles (Act One and Act Two)… we’re nearing “the end” – which is most authors’ favorite part! Most of the time the end is the section that brings some excitement and relief. The end is usually the “breath of fresh air” because you know you’re […]
Lesson #10: Danger: Road Ends!
“The End.” Those words have been printed, spoken, and seen who-knows-how-many times throughout the ages. Whether it’s a direct statement or a logical fact, your story must end at the end – that is to say, it must come to a close. (Note: your series may continue. But your story must end. What do I […]
Lesson #17: Introduction to GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict)
What is GMC? This week, in Lesson #17 and Lesson #18, we’ll be discussing GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict. You’ll need to grab your pen and paper, current manuscript/story idea, and a blank sheet of paper. Now, narrow down your single most important character – your hero/heroine. If you have more than one, choose your most […]
Lesson #19: Heroes
You know what to do! Grab your pen and paper, computer, notebook, and/or whatever else you like to write with. For the month of May, we’ll be covering characters – heroes/heroines, villains, secondary characters, and minor characters. In this lesson, we’re going to discuss the different types and characteristics of heroes/heroines. In Lesson #20, we’ll […]
Lesson #18: The GMC Chart
(Note: At the end of this post is a downloadable GMC chart.) So this lesson will be relatively short (hopefully) because you will need to try it out on your own – and because Kayla did such a great job with the introduction of the subject. *** But before we go any further – I […]