Tag Archives: conflict

Must Your Novel Have Multiple Storylines? (Encore)

Nope. But it might be a better novel if it did. That’s not to say single-viewpoint stories can’t be successful. NYT bestselling author Harlan Coben has proven that repeatedly. While his stories almost always stick to a single viewpoint character, … Continue reading

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Writing a novel is like… (Encore)

…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

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Does your hero have hay fever? (Encore)

Huh? Why would that make a difference? Why would someone even ask such a question? Bear with me. This all goes back to an article in The British Journal of Homeopathy, Volume 29, published in 1872. It included the following … Continue reading

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You’re stuck? Too bad. Some remedies, Part 1 (Encore)

Where did it all go wrong? Your story was cooking along nicely right up until– Hm. Somehow, somewhere along the way, something happened–either to the plot or your enthusiasm. Maybe both. Or maybe it was something else, some wrong turn, loose end, or … Continue reading

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Are all superheroes really vigilantes? (Encore)

Short answer: yep, pretty much. At least in the context of my Villains, Virgins and Vigilantes thesis which holds that these three character types are the primary staples of popular fiction. There are two other categories I’ll also discuss — … Continue reading

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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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Does your hero have hay fever?

Huh? Why would that make a difference? Why would someone even ask such a question? Bear with me. This all goes back to an article in The British Journal of Homeopathy, Volume 29, published in 1872. It included the following … Continue reading

Posted in novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Must Your Novel Have Multiple Storylines?

Nope. But it might be a better novel if it did. That’s not to say single viewpoint stories can’t be successful. NYT bestselling author Harlan Coben has proven that repeatedly. While his stories almost always stick to a single viewpoint … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

From Short Story to Novel–Part Three

In case you tuned in late, this conversation begins HERE. It moved forward last week, and the link for that is HERE. If you haven’t read the first two installments and hope to make sense of what comes next, you’re … Continue reading

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Formula for fiction? Back to the beginning…

I had been writing fiction for several years before I had the chance to attend a workshop presented by Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. This husband and wife team has achieved near legendary status in the speculative fiction writing … Continue reading

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