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”
Tag Archives: story goals
December 2024
Heads up! For 2025, I will be shifting to twice monthly posting. Hopefully this will mean I will be able to tag only one or two key ideas instead of half a dozen, making the posts easier to search for specific advice. I’ve been told I should write my stories with a theme. How doContinueContinue reading “December 2024”
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”
Preptober week 3
This week you’ll be writing – short things that are part story, part summary, all background. This week is about setting the main character(s) in your mind. Turn them around and over and about in your hands to see them from all sides. You’re going to write a “now” story about the characters in November.ContinueContinue reading “Preptober week 3”
Preptober Week 2
You should be coming to the end of the first book you’ve read this month and writing a review of it. You can publish that review, or keep it for yourself. That’s entirely up to you. For week 2 we’re going to focus the second half hour of your set-aside time on BRAINSTORMING. To writeContinueContinue reading “Preptober Week 2”
Story Building: Pacing
A story is considered complete if it contains complex vivid characters with goals moving in a setting described through all or at least many different types of sensory details, and the plot logically follows from an inciting incident, through several logical complications, reaching a climax, and settles many reader questions by the time the concludingContinueContinue reading “Story Building: Pacing”
Scene building: middles
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”
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”
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