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 […]
Three Act Structure
Lesson #4: Plotting
Check out the accompanying YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRlq-0B34Fc Plotting In Lesson #3 (read it here) we talked about plot in and of itself. We introduced this complex, wonderful, intriguing facet of the writing craft. In this lesson, we’ll focus on some different ways to plot – in a word: plotting. Three Strategies for Plotting There are […]
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 #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 #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 #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 […]
Lesson #44: The FANTABULOUS Synopsis
As soon as some of you read the word – synopsis – you cringed and went into hiding. I’m here to help you to overcome that aversion. Synopses are not normally things that writers say they want to write. In fact, most equate writing them to having a root canal or some other such horrible […]
Lesson #47: The First Chapter
Not only am I a writer but I am a rabid reader. I mean, rabies detectors clang when I pass by. Which means I am not going to waste my precious limited reading time on a book that doesn’t pull me in right away. Ain’t nobody got no time for that. So, make […]