Think Like a Librarian: The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope

I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view.  Here are the other posts in the series. … The Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure story from 1894.  Unlike a lot of the fiction written in that time period and […]

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Pacing, Part 12: If not the Hero’s Journey, Then What?

I’m working on a series on pacing.  You can see other posts in the series here. … I just spent the previous post in the series ripping apart the Hero’s Journey, or at least the fact that it’s not the end-all, be-all that some writers make it out to be. But if you’ve spent the last

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Pacing, Part 11: The Hero’s Journey.

I’m working on a series on pacing.  You can see other posts in the series here. … Here are the stages of the Hero’s Journey:  Departure. Call to Adventure. Refusal of the Call. Supernatural Aid. Crossing the First Threshold. Belly of the Whale. Initiation. The Road of Trials. The Meeting with the Goddess. The Woman as

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Pacing, Part 10: The Cask of Amontillado, Part 3

I’m working on a series on pacing.  You can see other posts in the series here. … Now that we’ve looked at words, sentences, dialogue, and paragraphs…let’s look at plot. Plot has pacing, just like everything else in writing.  The number and type of events in a plot add another layer to the pacing, beyond

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Pacing, Part 9: A Cask of Amontillado, Part 2

I’m working on a series on pacing.  You can see other posts in the series here. … That damned cask of Amontillado.  Does it even exist?  Is it what Montressor toasted Fortunato with, at the very end of the story? No matter.  We only ask ourselves questions of pacing today.  All your questions shall be

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Think Like a Librarian: Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk

I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view.  Here are the other posts in the series. Haunted is a collection of short horror stories tied together by one story that threads together the others.  I do not recommend

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Writer Resources: On Robin Williams’ Comedy

(public domain photo) The video “How Robin Williams Makes Us Smile” is from a solid YouTube series by Ryan Hollinger on movies, games, etc., and I particularly like the creator’s perspective on horror. This video explains just what the title says: how Robin Williams makes us smile.  Hint:  he’s honest about his emotions. As I was

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