Story Structure Series: #9 – Pinch Points
This is the 9th installment in our series on story structure. Prior posts are available in the Story Structure Series tab in the Categories menu. #9 – Pinch Points Must be the name: pinch points. People struggle with getting their head around it. Sounds like some ancient far eastern therapy. Or something kinky, maybe. Actually, it’s […]
The Unspoken Pinch Point: Your Climax
A guest post by David Villalva The climax of your novel should leave readers with some combination of emotional and intellectual satisfaction, as well as any intended sense of unease – often creepy. Or if it’s a part of a series, a compelling bridge into the next installment. Either way, you want your final act to resonate, to […]
“The Help” – Isolating and Understanding the First “Pinch Point”
It has been pointed out that I tend to linger over my set-ups, both here on Storyfix and in my new book. To pre-sell the point, ad nauseum. So let me get right to it today: The First Pinch Point in “The Help” occurs on page 184 (of the trade paperback), which is the 35th […]
7B) “Shutter Island” – The Part 2 Pinch Point and the Mid-Point
The second of two parts on this phase of the deconstruction. The Part 2 Pinch Point Pinch Points are moments in which the story’s primary antagonistic force comes back to center stage. That can take many forms, and it can involve the hero. Or not. It can be a cutaway to approaching danger that the […]
Table of Contents: Great Stories Don’t Write Themselves
GREAT STORIES DON’T WRITE THEMSELVES: Criteria-Driven Strategies for More Effective Fiction By Larry Brooks Published by Writers Digest Books October 2019 Table of Contents Foreword by Robert Dugoni Introduction: Survival and Sanity Along the Writing Road Part 1: It’s All in Your Head 1. The Mission of the Novel and the Novelist 2. Developing […]
Part 7… of a 101-level Series on the Basics of Story
How to “Pinch” Your Story for Greater Dramatic Effectiveness Register now for a FREE tele-seminar on March 16, on Story Structure.\ Details await at the end of today’s post on Pinch Points. (As an introductory tutorial, go HERE to read my guest post on Writetodone.com on basic story engineering. But please come back to learn […]
The Martian… Deconstructed
Two days ago I wrote about the phenomenon called The Martian, a 2009 self-published novel that against all odds found an agent and became a New York Times bestseller, and then was made into the current hit movie (and Oscar contender in several categories) by the same name, starring Matt Damon. The backstory of how […]
How to Plan Your Story in Six Weeks
A guest post by Jennifer Blanchard When I first learned about story structure and story planning, I was inspired to no end. I knew I’d found the missing link, the information I was lacking that would now help me write stories worth publishing. The idea of planning a story before you write it is total […]
Confessions of a Learning Curve Climber
A guest post by Stephanie Raffelock… about a “steaming mass of poop.” Larry Brooks made me cry. An ego bruising, embarrassing cry. He did it by asking a simple question: What is the dramatic goal of your hero? I answered every question he put forth in that scary, unflinching Questionnaire he uses in his […]
A Process-to-Product Success Story
Welcome new readers: click HERE for a no-strings free ebook offer, equivalent to an entire writing workshop! ***** This post wasn’t my first impulse where this story is concerned. I’d like to share a story with you, submitted to me for evaluation by a Storyfix reader. A story that is so good, so shockingly professional […]