Archive for the 'Planning' Category
The Lure of a New Project
If you visit a lot of writers’ websites, you’ll soon find a large majority of them openly admit to starting more stories than they finish. There are several reasons for this, but I’m going to talk about only one of those reasons today - the lure of a new project.
Yesterday, after a strong fight […]
Posted by: Scribe on Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007
The “RL Technique” J.K. Rowling Uses To Hook Her Readers
by Jared Myers
The “RL Technique” J K Rowling uses to grab readers by the eyeballs and forces them to re-read her books again and again.
I’ll show you how it practically gives away all her best kept secrets and how you can use it to keep your own readers hanging on your every word.
You’ve probably heard […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 18 Sep 2007
Using Index Cards
Last night, I finished reading No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty. (I admit there was a long break between starting the book and finishing it, because I was extremely busy.)
There’s a section at the end of the book that gives tips on […]
Posted by: Scribe on Saturday, 8 Sep 2007
Making Magic Real in your Fantasy Writing
By Will Kalif
Magic is a wonderful aspect of Fantasy. It can add whole new dimensions to the world you are creating by bringing new dilemmas and new problems and challenges. It can also bring a fair amount of spicy and interesting conflicts. But magic is not a panacea. It should not be used to easily […]
Posted by: Scribe on Friday, 7 Sep 2007
Finding the REAL Problem
Last week I wrote about My Writing Future and a few days later I gave a Dilemma Update, and now I’m going to write about finding out what the real problem was.
For as long as I can remember I have always NOT enjoyed writing conflict/battle scenes. I tend to skip over the top of […]
Posted by: Scribe on Thursday, 6 Sep 2007
How to Murder Your Muse
A muse is similar to a witch’s familiar, which is usually associated with a black cat. The cat is a companion to the witch, but it doesn’t do the work of the old hag (although it can be a pair of extra eyes, which I suppose she could find helpful). A muse on […]
Posted by: Scribe on Friday, 24 Aug 2007
How to Plot Your Novel
I’ve been plotting novels and short stories for some years now, but that doesn’t mean I think I know everything that needs to be known on the subject. Because of this, I continually borrow books from the library, or purchase them if they are being sold at the right price, to ensure I’m not […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 12 Jun 2007
Grouping Your Characters
Not all your characters are important. They cannot all have the starring role, or even the supporting role, but they should be important in their own way to the story. With this in mind, how do we sort the characters into groups in order to find out who should be there and who […]
Posted by: Scribe on Wednesday, 23 May 2007
A Plot Notebook
Many writers keep a notebook handy just in case a brilliant, or even a not so brilliant, idea comes to them while shopping, sitting in the doctor’s surgery, having a coffee, or while doing the chores. Ideas can pop into our heads at any moment. Some writers carry a notebook at all […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Grab Your Reader With Conflict
by Lea Schizas
No, not conflict of interest…not conflict within your being…but conflict found in a story.
What exactly is conflict in a story? Simple…a problem/obstacle your main character needs to overcome by the end of the story. Think of it as your engine that drives your car forward. Without one your car remains idle, collecting dust […]
Posted by: Scribe on Monday, 16 Apr 2007