A Short, Questionnaire-free Case Study: The Awaiting Epiphany When Craft Suddenly Clarifies…
… a moment that sometimes waits until after a synopsis comes together – or even the writing of an entire manuscript – to announce itself to you. Which can feel like awakening to the realization that, while you set out to drive to Florida, you’re instead in a boat heading for Havana, and the guys […]
Case Study: When a Concept is TOO Big
I had trouble titling this one. You’ll see why when you read it. To suggest that a concept is too big is to imply, perhaps, that the writer is reaching for something that feels he/she is ready to tackle, the story they were born to write. But concepts, on any scale, are available to anyone, […]
Guest Post: The Burden of Your Novel’s Opening Scene
A guest post by noted author and blogger C. S. Lakin. Think of your novel as a gold mine, with a mother lode resting deep in the heart of a mountain. In order to get to that treasure, you have to build a sturdy framework as you dig into all that dirt and rock. You […]
Is Your Story Worth Saving?
Of course it is. It’s yours. Nobody can nor should they tell you it’s not worth the time to try to save it. But when it isn’t ready to come out into the light, when it doesn’t really have a shot as is — because on this website and in my story evaluations, this is […]
Case Study: Heroes and Villains and Readers Who Can’t Tell the Difference
Let’s call him Joe. Joe is another of those courageous writers who consented to running their coaching Questionnaire answers (the Kick-Start concept/premise evaluation), with my feedback, here on Storyfix . He turned me down at first, uncomfortable with the notion that someone out there might want to “borrow” from his concept. I assured him this […]
The Road to Publication: One Novel’s Bumpy Ride
Today’s post is the story of a novel’s journey from inception to publication. This is an excerpt from my new ebook, “The Inner Life of Deadly Faux,” which I introduced (and offered… for FREE) in the post just prior to this one. (You can get it here: PDF DF Inner Life.) If you’ve published a […]
Free Ebook, a Unique Learning Opportunity
Sometimes writers write books about writing. Stephen King comes to mind, among many others. Sometimes — much rarer — writers write books about a specific book they’ve written, or someone else comes forward to write about that book (John Steinbeck, for example, as well as biographies of iconic authors that discuss specific works). But I’m […]
Case Study: Staying in the Conceptual “Lane”
Here’s a good little case study, taken from my supposedly short (this turned out to be over 8 pages of feedback) $50 Conceptual Kick-Start analysis service. As usual, props to the courageous writer who consented to share this. Actually, she was delighted and enthusiastic when she found out there was a clear direction to take […]
ARCHETYPES: Empowering Source-Driven Characters and Plots
A guest post by Robert Jones. You are invited to comment and engage, you’ll find Robert to be responsive, supportive and a wealth of clarifying mental modeling across the vast universe of fiction writing. Archetypes have a universal power that, when tapped effectively, is proven to generate best-selling novels and films. The right combination […]
Case Study: The Square-One Death of a Story
Premise makes or breaks you. Often before you write a single word of the story that your premise promises. Only rarely can you make chicken salad out of a sow’s ear (to combine two apropos bon-mots). Trying to do so is one whopper of a low percentage wager. You think writing is art? So […]