Time is a tricky thing, especially in writing. Even in real life, time seems to move more slowly for someone who is bored, but flicks past in an eyeblink if someone is absorbed or fascinated. This can leave writers in a bit of a pickle—they want the
Read more →Human beings are hardwired to notice what’s wrong. Historically, it was a lot more important to spot the tiger hiding in the bushes than it was to pick out the antelope grazing down the hill, because the tiger was a more immediate threat. Missing the antelope meant
Read more →Famous last words: “I’m going to write something stretchy.” Good for you. Now, what do you mean by “something stretchy,” and exactly how are you going to do it? My definition of “something stretchy” is something I’m not sure I know how to do, and that I’m
Read more →One of the things I hate writing the most is what I refer to as “council scenes.” These are the scenes that involve a bunch of characters who are trying to solve a problem (or series of problems) by talking them to death, rather than bashing something
Read more →One final word about what’s at stake: the real stakes, the thing that is of greatest ultimate importance to the main character, not only are not necessarily connected to the perceived stakes, they don’t have anything whatever to do with the type of story you are writing.
Read more →Lots of writers have a problem figuring out what the actual stakes are (as opposed to the perceived stakes). Quick review: the actual stakes are what’s really at stake for the character; the perceived stakes are what the character currently thinks is at stake. One reason for
Read more →Could you try an entry or two on punching up a sense of ‘there really is a plot here”? I’ve read several that I’ve thought were good but my husband grumbles had no plot. *I* thought there was one, but it’s not getting across to him. And
Read more →One of the questions that came up in comments recently was “What’s the difference between a cliché and a trope?” The simple and obvious answer is “The way the words are currently used on the Internet, not much.” But there’s a bit more to it than that.
Read more →Having spent the weekend being very thoroughly distracted by my 40th college reunion (at which they gave me a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, much to my astonishment [and thank you to everyone who worked on that]), I didn’t have a lot prepared for today’s blog. So I
Read more →“Crossover” is one of those writing terms that has multiple meanings, depending on to whom you’re talking and what you’re talking about. In fanfiction, for instance, it refers to a story that includes characters from totally different series or settings – Superman shows up in “Romeo and
Read more →
