Today’s Sermon. Really. I mean, literally.
Before I mount the podium here, allow me to thank you all for your suggestions for the content and focus of Storyfix moving forward. The clear leader is the call for more story deconstruction, with good showings for genre differentiation, sub-plotting, short story structure, first plot point confusion, multiple protagonists and POV, scene execution, keeping a […]
Storyfix is Accepting Requests
You may have noticed that things have been a bit slow here lately. Chalk it up to tax season, a cluttered personal life, a major workshop, some guest posts on other sites (a cobbler’s children/shoes paradox) and some freelance gigs… and that’s only an explanation, not an excuse. Yeah, I do have a personal life. I’m […]
The Thin Line Between Author and Protagonist
This is a cautionary tale. Your readers will always assume that, to some extent, the hero in your story is you. Which means you need to take care if it is important to you what they think in that regard. There are no guidelines for this one, just a warning and a call to action. […]
Monday Mess and Madness
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. Saw a great film I highly recommend, both for deconstruction purposes and as an example of a great character-driven thriller. It’s called Chloe, starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neelson and Amanda Seyfried, one of the hottest (in terms of her career) young actors in Hollywood. It’s directed by Atom […]
Check out “The Knot” by Josh Hanagarne — The World’s Strongest Librarian
Really. And he’s 6’8″, too. With Michael Crichton’s sad and sudden departure that makes Josh the tallest novelist on the planet. Which means I’m the second tallest. As for the strongest novelist badge — I’ll concede the Strongest Libarian title — we haven’t gone mano-a-mono in the gym yet (we can both bench press John Grisham’s checkbook) so that’s a […]
The Best Writing Workshop You’ve Ever Taken for Five Bucks
Seriously. It happens next week — an online workshop on story structure… for five bucks. It’s not here, by the way. It’ll be at Savvy Authors, and to get in you’ll need to enroll ahead of time. Or, on the day itself… though there is a cap on attendance (don’t want to crash the server, […]
Rethinking Your Novel: The Rationalization of Mediocrity
The seventh in a series of posts on what elevates a story to greatness. Contrary to how adamantly I pound the metaphoric table as I offer my views on structure and the principles of narrative, nothing about this stuff is an exact science. Writing is like any other form of art and entertainment – getting it […]
Rethinking Your Novel: The Quest for Art vs. The Quest for a Publisher
The sixth in a series of posts on what elevates a story to greatness. If it’s commercial, can it still be art? And if it’s art, are there really rules and standards in play? And whose are they? Or are we free to create anything we desire outside of and separate from those expectations? The […]
The Consequences of Writing Casually
Or, how not thinking it through before you stamp “Final” on a draft can bite you in the butt… while your readers are laughing theirs off. Change of pace today. The following have been culled from real church bulletins. Thank the Lord for typos and best intentions. Enjoy. ————————– The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes […]
Rethinking Your Story: A Menu of Variables to Consider
The Fifth in a Series on What Elevates A Story to Greatness Rethinking… what does that even mean? It’s not about fixing mistakes. That’s not rethinking, that’s finishing. It’s not about revising your story. That’s not rethinking, that’s repairing and renewing. Rethinking is more about reconsidering. It’s about the strategic decisions you make along the […]