Empowering the CORE of Your Story
Introducing a new level of affordable Story Coaching… and why you should take a look. You don’t have to spend a couple grand to get your story professionally evaluated and coached. There’s another way to get there, and it’s every bit as thorough and effective at the story level as a full manuscript review… for […]
Novelists and Screenwriters: Concept Equals “Situation”… and Then Some
Concept is, bottom line, more a CONTEXT for the premise-driven story that emerges from it. Sometimes the context of a story is indeed situational. Sometimes, though, it is merely a contextual framework that could apply to any number of situations. “Concept,” as a powerful storytelling tool, continues to befuddle and amaze. I’ve heard from […]
The Rules of Writing … or Not
Nothing polarizes, angers or at least frightens writers quite like the use of the word “rules” when discussing craft. The word is rhetorical. Contextual. Imprecise. Misunderstood. At least where writing fiction is concerned. It is the wrong word to describe the essential criteria for what makes a story work, or causes one story to […]
Novelists: Two Empowering Little Mind-Models That Just Might Change Everything For You
Some things in life are not measurable. Like, which tastes better, a fresh strawberry or a juicy fat beet. The answer doesn’t matter at all if the stakes are limited to you staring into your refrigerator, and while we can guess there is a vast majority leaning one way over the other in this preferential […]
The Holy Trinity of Character: Goals, Obstacles and Stakes
A guest post by Art Holcomb These three components – goals, obstacles and stakes – are nothing short of the holy trinity of character. Nothing – I repeat, NOTHING – is more important to your character than understanding these three points. • They are the basis of all characterization. • They keep your character on […]
Fiction Writers: The Definition and Criteria of Concept
Many writers begin a draft with a vision for concept and premise in mind. Others don’t, using the draft itself as the search-mechanism to find concept and premise, then retrofitting it into the story in subsequent drafts. Some writers are solid on their concept – often without realizing that’s what they have at this point, […]
Storytelling: The Key to Everything
Welcome to my new site design! If you’re reading this you’ve arrived at that transitional moment between swapping out the design template and dusting off some of the new parts, most notably the updating of details to my coaching programs. An official “rollout” is days away… until then, happy reading. Let me know if you […]
Win a free copy of my new novel… this week only!
Plus a little content for you today. First, the promotional deal: My publisher (Turner Publishing) is running a little lottery to give away a few dozen copies of my latest release, “The Seventh Thunder” (click to learn more about the book). There are no strings, though I’ll add that if you’d like to post a […]
The Role of Concept in a Real-World Story
Quick story to encapsulate the mindset – complete with barriers and old tapes and other priorities – of the writer who struggles with the notion of concept. Concept, of course, is the presence of something conceptual within a story. It’s not the story itself, but rather, the landscape for one. A framework. A compelling notion […]
Story Structure: What “going with the flow” Really Means
From Plot Points to narrative quartiles. This truth will set you free. Anyone who tells you to ignore the principles of story structure is: a) confusing process with outcome; b) telling you to “do it like I do it, because I am a genius,” and c) making the entire storytelling proposition orders of magnitude more […]