What made me think about this column is the surfeit of remakes that regularly roll through movies and TV executive offices. And are occasionally exercised in fandoms. I had to put my foot down in a recent discussion that there was no way to remake one particular 1980s TV show because it was so utterlyContinueContinue reading “Irreplaceable Characters”
Tag Archives: plotting
Plotting Subplots
(apologies for my tardiness) Life is rarely, if ever, lived in a straight line from setting a goal to achieving it. First, the plan itself can suffer setbacks, a shift to another path to the same goal, or even retrenching and starting over with an entirely new goal in mind. But even on a longContinueContinue reading “Plotting Subplots”
Writing through conflict
The meat of any story is the scenes showing the conflicts and obstacles that the main character(s) face as they try to reach some sort of end point that they can be happy with, or satisfied by. Sometimes they have fully envisioned it, mapped every step it will take to get where or what theyContinueContinue reading “Writing through conflict”
The first turn
Note, while I discuss this as the inciting incident and not the beginning page of your story, several genres do begin their storytelling here, in medias res (in the midst of things). Trouble has found the main character. The normalcy of the character that you established in the beginning page is disrupted. The cop whoContinueContinue reading “The first turn”
Plotting New Character Goals
Welcome back to my newsletter. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my goal in 2025 is to post bi-monthly. No better time to start a new habit than right away. As in life, you do not have to set an arbitrary future date to make changes in your life. Small, incremental shifts “one stepContinueContinue reading “Plotting New Character Goals”
June 2024
Sections Writing Advice Editing Advice Service Availability Writing Advice Last month we talked about STORY GOALS. And then I gave you some homework, to list steps that would be things the main character would have to accomplish to reach their story goal. These step goals become something I call SCENE GOALS. A character enters aContinueContinue reading “June 2024”
May 2024
Welcome back! ~ LZ Sections Writing Advice Editing Advice Service Availability Writing Advice This month, I’m continuing the topic of developing your plot by expanding on something I mentioned last month, the STORY GOAL. tldr; the STORY GOAL is NOT what the AUTHOR wants to have happen, but what the CHARACTERS – particularly the MAINContinueContinue reading “May 2024”
Newsletter Relaunch
Navigating to a new newsletter plan. My quarter 1 business analysis found that paying for my newsletter wasn’t as cost effective as it could be. So I’ve migrated my few subscribers (thanks to all of you!) to my website. I still won’t deluge you with content, only sending out a newsletter/post once a month. ~ContinueContinue reading “Newsletter Relaunch”
Plot Holes
If you’re Nano-ing, bookmark this and come back in December. Good luck as the final days of November roll on. I’ve talked about revising by identifying the focus of your writing and filling out details using the different tools of storytelling. I’ve also talked about looking at the growth (or rather the lack of it)ContinueContinue reading “Plot Holes”
Recommended Reads: Plotting
I’ve been doing a great deal of developmental editing lately and that entails often pointing writers to examples or books that discuss strategies for whatever they’re struggling with. I thought I would share a few of my go-to reads for various kinds of writing help. Help for structuring your plot You know all the partsContinueContinue reading “Recommended Reads: Plotting”
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