A Follow Up to My Previous Post
In my last post I recommended the film “The Gambler” because of a provocative scene (a monologue, actually) on the challenge and frustrations of the fiction-writing life. Several folks have told me they didn’t feel the same. That it was actually discouraging instead of motivating. Fair enough. I get that. I apologize for not better […]
Novelists: A Risky Bet that Just Might Be a Sure Thing… For You
I’m about to recommend a movie to you. That alone is a risky bet, but there is rationale behind my madness. I’m talking about “The Gambler,” starring Mark Wahlberg, one of the major holiday releases out now. Critics are not hating it, but to be honest they’re comparing it to Applebees on a street full […]
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 […]
Can Your Concept be TOO Big?
To open this can of worms… Announcing the re-release of my novel, “The Seventh Thunder.” The concept is massive. So much so it initially scared agents and publishers away. A few years ago I used this novel as my calling card to find a new agent. Leveraging the endorsement of my former editor at […]
An Easy Approach to Story Building : The Bedtime Story Model
A Holiday Gift to Writers, from Art Holcomb Novelists and screenwriters are like cousins twice removed. We only cross paths occasionally but, when we start swapping stories, it can be fascinating what each can learn from the other. (Larry note: it’s also fascinating how much they can resist each other. Which is a shame, because […]
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 […]
Story Structure for Dummies
A Ceiling-Cracking Epiphany for Newer and Unaware Writers An Explanation of the Inevitable for Frustrated Practitioners There was a time, a decade or so, when you couldn’t write a headline like that. Because it seems to say one of two things: if you don’t understand this then you’re a dummy… or… you know you’re not […]
Writing Successful Fiction: When What You Don’t Know Trumps What You Do Know
A tale of mishandled craft sinking the story ship. Quick story from the writing conference front. A few weeks ago I was doing a couple of workshops at a major writing conference, and as is often the case at these gatherings, the spare hours between sessions were spent meeting one-on-one with writers to go over […]
There’s Power in the Public Domain — A Guest Post by Art Holcomb
Stuck for an idea to develop? As a writer, I’m constantly looking for new approaches and new ideas to write about. I’m guessing you do the same. In recent years, there have been a number of books that have been written about characters developed by writers in the past – such as Sherlock Holmes, Dr. […]