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 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.
by Joe Bunting |
How do you tell a story? Not how do you construct a story, or how do you structure and plot a story? How do you tell a story?
When I think about storytelling at its most basic, I think about our earliest ancestors, sitting around a campfire, sharing stories about their lives, the adventures they’ve been part of, and the history of their people.
This is what narrative devices are about, how you tell the story, and if you’re a writer, the method and perspective of your storytelling is something you must consider.
In this article, we’re going to talk about narrative devices, what they are, the different types found in the best books, plays, films, and serials, and how to use them to tell a powerful story.
