by David Safford |
Writing a great story is hard. Every author worth his or her salt knows this from painful experience. And if you’re setting out to write something worthwhile, you’re going to encounter failure along the way. But that doesn’t mean you’re a failed writer.
Despite the temptation to give up or run away from writing again, you have to keep going. You have to keep writing.
Because the reward waiting for you is priceless. Not only that, the reward can only come from failure.
And it’s the ingredient that will make your story a must-read.
by David Safford |
Point of view is the vehicle that drives a story. Get it right, and your novel hums along smoothly and your reader never notices.
Get it wrong, however, and your book becomes an unbearable clunker rife with confusion.
Shawn Coyne, author of The Story Grid, has read a lot of critically acclaimed and successful books, and noticed something about their point of view. All of these books used a specific style of narration, and you can use it too.
by David Safford |
Do you know what your character’s objects of desire are? What do they want, and what do they need? And how do you leverage those wants and needs to create conflict in your story?
Writing a great story is a very challenging task. But there are secrets, shortcuts, and techniques that will give you an advantage as you start writing so that every word is focused on the proper goal of your story.
Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid is an excellent place to turn. And in this third post in my series on writing great stories using Story Grid principles, you’ll learn why conflict is the lynchpin of powerful storytelling and how to use it to thrill your readers.
by David Safford |
You’re a storytelling genius full of brilliant ideas, right? You don’t need things like “structure” and “rules” to write a good story.
Or do you?
The Six Core Questions of Story Grid identify the fundamental elements of your story. They’ll help you figure out what your story is truly about, and what you need to include in it to turn it into a book readers will love.
by David Safford |
Do you think about your writing too much? Do you focus too much on unfinished writing goals?
I know I do. Every day I catch myself worrying about word counts, deadlines, and opportunities I’ll be missing out on.
You’d think that this kind of obsession would make you a better writer, or at least a more motivated one. But it’s probably poisoning you, embittering you against the very craft you’ve come to love.
To save yourself from this jaded point of view, you need a way to take a step back. You need thankfulness.
