by Sarah Gribble |
You’ve probably heard this one before: Your character must change throughout the course of your story. Characters need to transform.
I see a lot of confusion over this concept. Writers can normally nail the change (weak to strong; bad to good; cynical to optimistic) but it often comes from a weird place that doesn’t sit quite right with what we know about the protagonist. Or it’s too big of a change (or too much of a “fairy tale ending”) to be believable.
Writers think that great characters need drastic changes, but this isn’t always the case.
Let’s take a look at how writers should deal with character change, and how creating a character arc might make for a more interesting cast and plot.
by Liz Bureman |
Here at the beginning of a new year, we’re surrounded by calls to set new goals, make resolutions, change something specific in our lives, so it seems a perfect time to revisit the rebirth plot which promises change.
by Joe Bunting |
One of the first decisions you have to make when you’re writing a novel or short story is which tense to use. There are only two viable options: past tense or present tense.*
Which tense should you choose for your novel?
by Joe Bunting |
Once you have a great story idea, the next step is to write it. But do you want to take your brilliant idea and then write a book that bores readers and causes them to quit reading your book?
Of course not. That’s why you need to learn how to write great scenes.
Scenes are the basic building block of all storytelling. How do you actually write them, though? And even more, how do you write the kind of scenes that both can keep readers hooked while also building to the powerful climax you have planned for later in the story?
In this post, you’ll learn what a scene actually is. You’ll explore the six elements every scene needs for it to move the story forward. Then, you’ll learn how to do the work of actually putting a scene together, step-by-step. We’ll look at some of the main scene types you need for the various types of stories, and we’ll also look at some scene examples so you can better understand how scenes work. Finally, we’ll put it all together with a practice exercise.
by Joe Bunting |
How do good stories end? In tragedy or triumph? With a wedding or a funeral?
That is the question of the denouement, a literary term that means more than just “the end.”
This article is all about denouement. In it, we will talk about the origin and definition of the literary term, give examples, and talk about where it fits in your writing.
by Liz Bureman |
As we continue to look at Christopher Booker’s 7 basic plots, today we turn to the voyage and return. If you’re trying to tell a story with a journey into strange lands on a fantastic voyage, where normal rules might not apply, you may be working with a voyage and return plot.
