While worded in various ways, many of my readers stated they struggle with structuring their book, aka developing a plot. So, let’s take a look. (I’ll cover structuring nonfiction next month.) I’ve written various posts on this topic throughout the years, and you’ll find links to several of those posts listed at the end. Why…
Updated October 12, 2020 Last time we looked at scenes and how to build them. Most writers don’t have trouble writing scenes, and moving from scene to scene can be accomplished with as simple a statement as “Later that day…” However, there are times when you want to provide your reader with more. The sequel…
Updated September 14, 2020. In my last post we looked at plot. Today we’ll look at working with scenes. What goes into a scene? All the same things that go into plot. Think of a scene like a mini plot. The character(s) has a goal, which represents a small step in achieving the story goal….
Updated August 2020 Many fiction writers struggle with what plot is and how to develop it, including me. We envision the end product and wonder how we’re going to get there. Some writers develop their plot through first writing outlines (called plotters); some write by the seat of their pants (called pantsers). But much like…
All great fiction writing has more than 4 important elements; however, in my opinion, there are 4 that are the driving force behind your story. Any avid reader can quickly identify when a book is going to be great or not. They may not be able to tell you the elements that are or aren’t…
This month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story. Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story. However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story.
In last week’s “To Plot a Story,” guest Deborah Lyn Stanley stated, “A one-sentence premise is essential to a strong story.” Many writers may not understand what a premise is or how to arrive at that one-sentence, so let’s take a look at it today. In almost all of the books I have on the…
Today’s guest post is from writer, artist, and editor Deborah Lyn Stanley. She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and care-giving mentally impaired seniors. She has published a collection of 24 artists’ interviews titled the Artists Interview Series. The series published as monthly articles for an online news…