Guest Post: New York Times Bestselling Thriller Author Chelsea Cain
“What I Wish I Knew About Getting Published Before it Happened To Me.” by Chelsea Cain Author of the New York Times bestselling thrillers Heartsick, Sweetheart and Evil at Heart. Travel with a corkscrew. Otherwise you will end up having to buy one every time you want to take a bottle of wine back to […]
Guest Post: Writing Mentor and Character Champion Bill Johnson
Putting the Tense in Narrative Tension by Bill Johnson Narrative tension is the inner tension characters in a novel feel about unresolved and unfulfilled events and needs. When characters in a story are blocked from gaining what they want, they experience narrative tension. (Interesting to note, this is also the very essence of conflict in […]
Puzzles, Propositions, Pitches and Other Holiday Stuffing
Yesterday I challenged you to do the impossible. Oh, did I mention that the puzzle is, in fact, actually not solvable? And it looked so easy, too. Just like your killer idea may look like an easy winner at a glance. Well, I’m either a smug bastard or I had a reason for doing that. […]
Have You Written Yourself Into a Corner?
Let’s have a little fun today. Maybe at your expense, too. Or maybe at mine if this pisses you off, which it might. There’s a little exercise for you at the end of this post. But first, a little context. Sometimes an idea seems so good at first. We bolt upright at night with it, […]
Infusing your Fiction With Heart and Soul: An Exercise
In the realm of art, including the writing of stories that reach into people’s hearts and minds to leave an indelible mark – or, depending on your genre, perhaps a scar – we are very much alone with our muse. And too often that muse doesn’t know any more about how to pull it off […]
A Guest Post From Deb Caletti: What I Wish I Knew About Getting Published Before It Happened To Me
Deb Caletti is a bestselling Young Adult novelist and National Book Award finalist for her 2004 novel, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. Her current book, The Secret Life of Prince Charming, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, one of several her work has received. If you’d like to learn more about Deb (there’s much to learn, […]
The Most Powerful Two Hours You’ll Ever Spend as a Storyteller
I’m about to introduce you to the most exhilarating and useful hands-on writing exercise I’ve ever experienced. So effective, in fact, that it’s more a tool than it is a way to limber up the ol’ creative muscles. So which is it? An exercise or a tool? Doesn’t matter. Either way, I urge you – […]
The Author as Hero
So many analogies, so little time. Here on Storyfix I liberally offer analogies about the writing process in an attempt to clarify the critical and often-misunderstood relationships between certain mind-sets and the writing of publishable novels and marketable screenplays. Misunderstood, as in… gee, I’ve read a lot of novels in my day, seen a lot […]
Previews of Coming Storyfix Attractions
Yesterday I ran a post on how to recognize story structure in movie trailers. You can also see it shine through in book jacket copy and, if the reviewer is any good, reviews. I offer that because today’s title might confuse you, at least if you spent any time with yesterday’s post. Because today isn’t […]
How to Learn Story Structure in Two Minutes or Less
Went to a movie yesterday. The new Clooney flick about staring at goats. Not bad, a few grins, but in my view a little over-the-top silly at the end. But that’s not my point today. What happened before the movie is. Because I saw a bunch of previews for upcoming films. And in doing so, […]