Today we’re going to discuss building compelling “middles.” Between the beginning and the end, most of the story happens. Popularly, the “muddled middle” or “the slog,” this is the bulk of your story’s plot before the climax. After the climax is generally the shortest part of your story, tying up loose ends, and characters pattingContinueContinue reading “Scene building: middles”
Category Archives: advice
Let Dialogue Speak for Itself
Is using “said” dialogue tags good or bad? What about using “snapped” “shouted” “whispered” or “questioned” or even the many adverbs often added to said, like “laconically” “dramatically” or “softly”? I’ve talked before about attributions in dialogue, so what I want to do today is drive home the idea of making your dialogue so sharp,ContinueContinue reading “Let Dialogue Speak for Itself”
To POV or not POV
Today I’m going to talk about ways to figure out if a character in your story needs to have a scene written from their point of view. First, POV is more than just using third person (he/she/they) or first person (I/we us/them). It is about choosing a PERSPECTIVE — a lens through which readers willContinueContinue reading “To POV or not POV”
Setting as Character
Here’s more advice about developing your story’s setting. I’ve discussed setting in several previous blogs: That Can’t Happen Here, Plan your setting, and Creating setting. So you’d think, what else can possibly be said about setting? How about making your setting a character? Making it so full and richly detailed, and integral to the wayContinueContinue reading “Setting as Character”
When Characters Won’t Act
Last week in my Build-A-Book Workshop, we were discussing developing main characters and a story plot. Previously on this blog, I have discussed plotting in Plan Your Story. That was a bit of “down and dirty” to get ready for NaNoWriMo. Figure out a character goal and several obstacles along the way that your characterContinueContinue reading “When Characters Won’t Act”
Including the past in the present story
Florida Writers Association had a good post about how/when to include backstory (and avoid info dump). Many authors I’m encountering are writing series or sequels. The question frequently asked is how to clue in a reader who may pick up a series in the middle, or a sequel when your back catalog may be unfamiliarContinueContinue reading “Including the past in the present story”
Editorial Advice 2
Today’s editorial advice is for authors writing synopses. If you are planning to traditionally publish, you have to query publishers or agents to see if they’ll pick up you and your work. What agents and publishers frequently request is a synopsis. What is a synopsis? A synopsis is a full summary of your story, fromContinueContinue reading “Editorial Advice 2”
Scene building: Endings
Listen to this post on Spotify. Today’s topic is not about how to end your story, but rather how to end a scene so that it carries the reader through the emotions just riled up and makes them turn the page eagerly to see what happens next. A scene should unfold at a pace thatContinueContinue reading “Scene building: Endings”
Editorial Advice
This week in editorial advice tweets. Questions about POV and MC (main characters; protagonists) https://twitter.com/lz_edits/status/1641759760130224128 This first question asks about when to introduce the MC. My short answer is above, but here’s a longer discussion because 256 characters is never enough. Point of view (POV) is the main vehicle for connecting readers to a characterContinueContinue reading “Editorial Advice”
Scene building: beginnings
Listen to this post or others on Spotify or Anchor.fm I’ve talked previously about how to structure a scene. The beginning, or entre, should start as close to the moment the POV character starts pursuing their scene goal. But when exactly is that? And how do you decide whether to start with narrative, like describingContinueContinue reading “Scene building: beginnings”
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