Why You Need to see “The Box”
Two elements of my approach to teaching story have always been on the controversial side. Wouldn’t have it any other way – if you want vanilla, take a community college writing class. If you want to publish, stick around here. First, I advocate that novelists study movies, and screenwriters study literature. And second, with regard […]
Introducing New York Times Bestselling Author April Henry
April Henry is the author of eight mysteries for adults and teens, including the New York Times bestseller Face of Betrayal, co-written with Lis Wiehl. Next year will see the release of her second in the series, Hand of Fate, as well as Girl, Stolen, a stand-alone teen thriller that will be the lead title from […]
A Joke For Writers
Joe’s mother was a writer. She’d never published anything, but she loved nothing more than to sit down at a keyboard and pour her dear heart out onto the page. Trouble was, her keyboard was attached to an old manual typewriter. The kind you see displayed in the window of an antique store. Joe finally […]
Quick Tips, Coming Attractions, NaNoWriMo Sanity and Other Musings From the Literary Cheap Seats
On Trusting the Process I was up late last night working on a post for you about why planning the second half of your novel seems more difficult than planning the first half, which several readers have recently reported. Couldn’t make the second half of that post work, which is ironic, and what leads me […]
Announcing the Launch of “Story Structure – Demystified”
“Story Structure — Demystified” is live. I’m excited to announce the publication of my new ebook. The preliminary reader response has been nothing short of astounding, and humbling. Even for me. Here’s just one of them: “I’ve purchased and read at least ten books since last spring on writing and I’ve found nothing yet that […]
Noted Author Series: Jennie Shortridge
(NOTE: see the post that follows this one for a pre-release special offer on Larry’s new ebook, Story Structure – Demystified.) And now, a special treat… This is the first of a series of posts from published authors I’ve invited to contribute to Storyfix, on the subject of “what I wish I knew about getting published […]
About NaNoWriMo – Three Ways to Thrive, One Sure Way to Suck
Beginning next week, if you hear what sounds like a flock of Hitchcockian birds descending on your neighborhood, that’s just the collective sound of thousands of keyboards on frantic overload. Because about 50,000 writers will be pounding away on a new novel, sweating blood to finish within 30 days as part of National Novel Writing Month. […]
3 Storytelling Exercises That Can Get You Published
Our stories are very much like lovers. We choose them as a reflection of ourselves and our needs. They’re seductive. Compelling and oddly rewarding. Warm. Dangerous. Sexy. Fulfilling. Fun. And, if we’ve chosen well, they’re deliciously challenging. They’re also a little needy and insecure. Sometimes unpredictable, even fickle. Often high maintenance. Occasionally jealous. Prone to […]
Watch and Learn: 10 Television Shows for Writers
(Quick side note: check out my guest post today on Copyblogger.com — “Why Content is No Longer King.”) Novelists are loath to admit they watch television. It’s like a chef admitting they enjoy a dripping hot Whopper every now and then. With extra cheese. And while there’s an abundance of unabashed crap on television these […]
Shades of Gray: A Somewhat Liberating Spin on Story Structure
If you’ve been challenged by the notion – or if you’re in complete denial – that effective stories can and should be broken down into sequential parts, that each of these parts has a unique contextual mission to fulfill, and that each segment is separated by a critical milestone that must accomplish certain storytelling feats… […]