Stories change. If there is no rise or fall in a narrative, it isn’t a story. It’s a series of events. The rise and fall of characters’ fortunes interest us more than anything else. This change, the rise and fall in a story, can be plotted on a graph to form a curve shape ...
If you find yourself writing in a stiff or formal tone, try using speech-to-text software. As you dictate your story, the software will transcribe your words. Then you can edit it where necessary to make it sound like you. 6. Expose the Impact It Had on Your Life Your memoir isn’t...
had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to ...
Selfish. Unlike traditional heroes, they are rarely in it for the right reasons, but are instead motivated by selfish gain. Because of this they usually make reluctant heroes in a story and are only motivated to help others if they can gain from it personally, as a last resort, or if th...
Interiority in fiction: the glue between inner and outer worlds Fiction provides a window into the lives, thoughts, and emotions of characters. One of the most powerful tools a writer has in their arsenal to achieve this is the use of interiority. Interiority, or the depiction of a character...
In terms of important events, Eva's parents got divorced when she was three and she's been going back and forth between their houses for as long as she can remember, so that's a big part of her personal story. She's also played piano for all four years of high school, although she...
How do you see the narrative arc unfolding? How will you structure the piece? What will provide the narrative tension? Who are the characters in this story? Who will you talk to? What kind of scenes do you anticipate capturing that will help tell this story? Give us a sense of your wr...
A six-step method to outline your novel: Gain practical steps to distill your idea, choose a structure, develop characters, flesh out your plot, conduct research, and start writing. The role of character development in plotting: Explore how well-crafted characters can drive your narrative forward...
Here are some final miscellaneous tips that can help you level up as a fantasy writer: Prologues:Prologues are slightly controversial, as some authors don’t like having them, but other authors insist they should be used. Generally speaking, I recommend using them if you want to set up the...
“Let us define plot. We have defined a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality. ‘The king died and then the queen died,’ is a story. ‘The king died, and then the queen died of grie...