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Endings v. Beginnings: Which is More Important?
Endings or beginnings? Which are more important? Neither. They are both crucial. Connection between the Beginning and the Ending The first thing to notice is that these two points in a narrative must be intimately connected. The story problem you set up must be the same story problem that you solve. When you’re revising a…
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9 Tips on Opening Lines & Opening Chapters of Your NaNoWriMo Novel
If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, you’ll be starting at midnight tonight or first thing in the morning. You’ll be opening your story with a great scene, right? Here are resources for those first lines, opening chapters of your novel. 10 Opening Line Strategies, illustrated with the top 100 opening lines of…
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Scene Quiz: Harvard Bar Scene
Scene Quiz: From a Harvard Bar to Your Scenes Yesterday, we talked about what you’d find if you dissected a good scene. Today, we’ll apply this information by studying a scene from the classic movie, Good Will Hunting. (Warning: Adult language) Then, you can apply it to your own scenes.
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Dissect a Scene
Anatomy of a Scene If you dissect a scene, what do you find? Sandra Scofield, in The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer lays out a simple, yet insightful discussion of this concept and it’s usefulness to a novelist. Here are the basics of a scene: Event and Emotion: Something happens and