I tried many exercises in the various writing groups in which I participated before entering graduate school, and working towards earning my MFA. None left an impression, or stuck with me. This is not to say the exercises held no merit. Instead my focus lay severely on learning to write, as in craft a decent […]
Establishing what is at stake for the protagonist of your story is essential for grasping and holding a reader’s attention. Addressing and making clear the risks your major character faces, and doing this early on in a novel engages the reader towards caring for the major character.
So You Want to Write a Story: What’s At Stake? Read More »
A story can be seen as answering six essential questions: Who, What, Where, When Why, and How? Who concerns the characters. What defines the current situation, problem or dilemma. Where describes the setting. When is the second part of the setting, time and period in history, either current, or some time in the past, or
So You Want to Write a Story: How=Story Read More »
Writers dance with our characters. The words we write are the music delivering rhythm by which our feet move. The sentences and paragraphs that follow spin a melody, the context and situation wherein we in crafting our stories offer not only a depiction of transformation and change, but also the epiphany and transcendence of our
The Courage to Dance and Write Read More »
The word protagonist is rooted in the word agony, pain, and suffering. Protagonist means principal, or leading character. Good stories depict a central character in struggle, usually a fight for her or his life on some level. Memorable stories depict this main character rising above their pain oftentimes by helping others.
The Suffering of Our Protagonist Read More »
Crafting stories is the perfect opportunity, offers a wonderful experience, to practice egolessness. The words our characters speak, our prose that describes their actions and feelings are but soldiers in the army of our thoughts. How fleeting.
Writing and Egolessness Read More »
I have a notebook for every novel I write. I make notes on short stories I write, but novels deserve an entire notebook. My novels, as with all stories I write, begin in my head. Since earning my MFA I give much thought to my novels before I write, sometimes as much 3 years or
Planning Your Novel: My Notebook Read More »