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Another textbook? Why not? There’s still plenty of good stuff worth learning, and I couldn’t cram it all into the first three. Naked Notes! is now available at Amazon. Do a writer friend of yours a HUGE favor, order a signed copy from me!
Now Available!
Zeus’s Cookbook is now available. Don’t miss this bizarre story of Greek deities served up in a strange, new way! Autographed copies make great gifts, y’know. Drop me a line if you’d like one.
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Tag Archives: complication
Oh, those damned middles! (Encore)
You know how it starts, and you know how it ends. Now what? For many, including most of my writing students, the gaping black hole which sits between the beginning and the end of a story can be daunting. How … Continue reading
Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing
Tagged action, complication, conflict, consequence, Fiction, heroes, Hollywood, middles, mob, motive, outlines, plot, plot line, plot shifts, romance, snotty kid, terrorist, try/fail, villains
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Characters with… character. part 2 of 3
Last time (click here if you missed it) we covered character loglines, the character’s problem, and his or her initial plan to solve it. But there’s much more to character building. Read on. Next up is Conflict–the great provider. All that wonderful, … Continue reading
Posted in novel writing, Writing
Tagged Ashley, character, complication, external, Gone With The Wind, internal, Jedi, limitations, plot, Scarlett, Star Wars, try/fail, Writing, Yoda
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Characters with… character. part 1 of 3
For most readers, novels are judged by the degree to which readers care for the players in the story. Character-driven stories haven’t just evolved; they’re as old as storytelling itself. And yet, far too many novice novelists concentrate more on plots than … Continue reading
Posted in novel writing, Writing
Tagged action, advice, character, character-driven, complication, consequence, elevator pitch, logline, motive, novel, plot, problem, Scorpion, solution, Writing
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Writing a novel is like…
…eating an elephant. You have to do it one bite at a time. No one seems to care how the elephant feels about this. The point, obviously, is that writing a novel is a big job, and you won’t finish … Continue reading
Posted in novel writing, Writing
Tagged breaking down a story, complication, conflict, detail, elephant, ideas, novel, plot points, production, Writing
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Don’t need no stinkin’ genre! How to write a novel — part 3
We left off last time with a “what if” after sketching a quick look at a couple primary characters in a contemporary, non-fantasy setting. (Okay, the lingerie model issue may have been a bit of fantasy.) Point is, one of … Continue reading
