by Ali | Aug 26, 2019 | Fiction
In screenwriting, there are commonly agreed “plot points” that movies are expected to follow. With novels, you’ve got more flexibility – but many writers and theorists would argue that you should hit specific plot points at specific stages in your...
by Ali | Aug 12, 2019 | Fiction, Writing
For the next four weeks, we’re going to be look at “Developing Better Plots”. We’ll be covering what plot is (and isn’t), how to create a better plot, how to fix a plot that’s gone wrong, and more. Make sure you join the newsletter so you don’t miss out on any...
by Ali | Jul 15, 2019 | Fiction
It’s a familiar situation for most novelists: you get a few chapters in (or if you’re unlucky, a few pages) … and for one reason or another, you find yourself stuck. Maybe your initial enthusiasm for the project didn’t last. Maybe you had the first few chapters...
by Ali | Apr 29, 2019 | Fiction
You’ve probably come across the idea of a “character arc” before now … but what is it, and why’s it called that? A character arc isn’t the same thing as your plot. It’s the progression of your character as a person throughout your story. You might also think of...
by Ali | Apr 22, 2019 | Fiction
Most writers love creating characters and writing about them – but it can be a struggle to get characters right. If you’re normally quite plot-focused, you might find yourself creating characters who are lifeless “pegs” that fit into the right-shaped spaces in your...
by Ali | Apr 16, 2019 | Fiction
This post was first published in August 2015, and updated in April 2019. Kudos to LycoRogue for inspiring it. Do you have a hard time hurting your characters? Maybe it’s pretty easy with some of them. (For me, villains are fair game, and Woobies seem to invite a fair...
