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In my WIP, I’m looking for mini-conflicts among characters. I want to keep the tension high throughout. Donald Maass, agent and author of Write the Breakout Novel, says, “Tension on every page.” Ongoing Conflicts. These mini-conflicts are the stuff of everyday life: The ongoing battle between teacher/student over chewing gum. The ongoing battle between brother/sister [...]
It’s confirmed: I am not a character writer, able to start with a character and “see where the character takes me.” Nope. I need to plot first. Now here’s the thing. I can tell you about 29 different plot paradigms. There’s the hero’s quest, especially as it plays out in Bridge to Terabithia. But it [...]
Weaving Plot and Subplot Together I am working on my new novel’s plot and subplot. The subplot is a secondary goal, in this case a love story: Boy meets Girl, Boy and Girl hate each other, Boy and Girl love each other. I’ve written a short synopsis of each plot and am working at this [...]
Which camp do you fall into? Do you plan your novel extensively before you write a single word? Or, do you improvise as you go along? A friend is starting a new novel at the same time I’m working on a new novel and it’s interesting to see the difference in our approach. Character. He’s [...]
30 Days to Stronger Scenes: Table of Contents Fiction Notes works to help you write stronger, better stories that will result in a contract! Here are 30 posts about writing stronger scenes. Get regular updates from Fiction Notes Email Address Close var fnames = new Array();var ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;fnames[2]=’LNAME’;ftypes[2]=’text’;fnames[3]=’MMERGE3′;ftypes[3]=’url’; try { var jqueryLoaded=jQuery; jqueryLoaded=true; [...]
30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents Featured Today in Fiction Notes Stores Stories that Lose Focus In Writing for Story, Jon Franklin says that, “As length grows linearly, complexity expands expotentially.” It’s easy to write a scene; to write a novel is hard. When someone writes without planning ahead, the danger is [...]
30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents Featured Today in Fiction Notes Stores As you look over your scene list, you must ask yourself if every scnne is needed. Here are two good reasons to omit a scene: Lack of emotions One scene I recently wrote just had the wrong focus. It was [...]
30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents In writing or revising a novel, it’s always a balancing act, deciding which scenes to fully develop and which to skip, to skim, or to forget. Events NOT worthy of a full scene? Backstory: Take, for instance, the story of the three little pigs. You could [...]
30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents Do you make these 5 plotting mistakes? This is cross-posted in the Build a Strong Plot, 8-post series. Are you too nice to your characters? Low tension. Give characters large, overwhelming obstacles to overcome. Of course, you love this dear fellow you created and like any [...]
Featured Today in Fiction Notes Store Selecting the Right Scenes: Most Dramatic Way to Tell a Story 30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents Jumping Between Scenes After you’ve decided on the scene you want to zoom into for details, you might want to stop and ask yourself, if you can omit some [...]
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