New series! I’ve been studying fiction with a scalpel and a jeweler’s lens for a few years now, and I’ve found it immensely helpful. I’m going to cheat a little and use most of a post that I typed up for the pacing series, which you can find here. The issues are the same 🙂 […]
How to Study Fiction, Part 1: Welcome to Intermediate Writing! Read More »
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. … True Grit is a Western adventure story first published in 1968. Readers who are looking for a tale of the good guys
Think Like a Librarian: True Grit, by Charles Portis Read More »
I’m working on a series on pacing. You can see other posts in the series here. … There’s still a lot more to cover on pacing, but now you’ve been introduced to the idea that pacing can work on pretty much every level (even high levels, as in the beginnings examples), so I’ll wrap things up
I’m working on a series on pacing. You can see other posts in the series here. … Do you need a prologue? Are you allowed to have one? Beginning writers are often advised to avoid prologues. In fact, they’re often advised to avoid a lot of things that annoy editors and agents when handled badly. But
Pacing, Part 15: Prologues (with Agatha Christie) Read More »
I’m working on a series on pacing. You can see other posts in the series here. … Beginnings don’t have to start with summary; they can start with demonstration. The demonstration should involve the setting more than it does anything else. You might pull off extremely minor actions or dialogue, but try just using setting first. It’s
I’m working on a series on pacing. You can see other posts in the series here. … In the beginning of every story is a beginning. This seems obvious, but it’s one of the hallmarks of an early writer to leave it off entirely and to start in what the writer thinks is in media res, or “in
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
Think Like a Librarian: The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope Read More »
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
Pacing, Part 12: If not the Hero’s Journey, Then What? Read More »
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
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
Pacing, Part 10: The Cask of Amontillado, Part 3 Read More »
