The Mystery and the Romance of Structure
One of the most frequently asked and therefore legit questions on this venue concerns the applicability of the principles of story structure to genre fiction, especially mysteries and romances. If you’re writing a screenplay, the answer is simple: nothing is different among the genres. You have three acts to work with (equivalent to the novelist’s […]
What Just Might Get You Published. What Probably Won’t.
A few tough truths for the new and truly committed. The following presumes you’ve actually written a publishable story. A manuscript that stands ready to compete against proven professionals and talented first-timers with a story that’s every bit as compelling as yours. How to write such a story and how to publish one are very different […]
Story Structure in a Series
This weekend I was privileged to participate in a panel discussion at the conclusion of a long day of writing workshops. The venue was the annual Write on the River conference in Wenatchee Washington – a great event, very professional and well attended – and I was among 12 presenters on a stage answering questions […]
Reprise: The First Two Storyfix Posts. And So It Began.
“Find something worth dying for… then live for it.” Originally published here on Storyfix June 1 and 2, 2009. Writing at a professional level is much like any other pursuit in which professionals are on public display. They make it look easy. Ballers glide effortlessly through the air to slam dunk, yet the average gym […]
The Pantser’s Guide to Story Planning – Part Two
The Minimum First Tier Things an Organic Writer Needs to Know About a Story Before It Will Work The second installment of a two-part series. (Read Part One of this series here.) The Nine Things You Should Know Before You Begin Writing This reminds me of that old Steve Martin joke: How do you avoid […]
The Pantser’s Guide to Story Planning – Part One
The Minimum First Tier Things an Organic Writer Needs to Know About a Story Before It Will Work The first installment of a two-part series. Over the course of this debate about story planning versus organic, seat-of-the-pants story development, I’ve come to realize several things. Most notably, that we are all in the same boat, […]
Five Scary Truths About Writing That Are Actually Good News
Here I go again. Exposing the underbelly of the writing dream in ways that some perceive as dark and gloomy. Discouraging even. Hey, I’m sorry this is hard. Do you really think that getting published and maybe even having a career as a fiction writer is anything other than hard? Allow me to clarify. Writing, […]
The Most Important Storytelling Challenge of Them All
Sometimes the blank page mocks me. I face it many times each week in the creation of these posts, and each time I ask myself, what can I say that might make a difference? How can I help my readers reach their writing goals today? Sometimes it feels like this daily calling sends me, and […]
A Holiday Gift for Writers With a Dream
My wife and I have been brainstorming how to handle this Christmas Eve post. We’re thinking it should be something akin to a gift, though I hesitate to label anything smacking of counsel a gift. But this is different. This particular sparkling gem of a tip can be the difference between your writing intentions and […]
NaNoWriMo is over. Now what? Toss it, or floss it? And…
… a guest post by Martha Miller, the hardest working writer I know. But first, a few words from your host. This just in… Procrastinating Writers has just posted the “43 Most Inspiring Writing Advice Posts 0f 2009.” And guess what… 15 of them were from Storyfix.com. Huge thanks to Jennifer, I’m so very honored by […]