Deception is a marvelous technique for the seasoned storyteller. Once one masters the basic skills (check out my new plotting class), this then frees the artist to begin honing more highly advanced techniques for beguiling audiences. Of all storytelling techniques, I believe my favorite is the unreliable narrator. Deception is key in order to successfully Read more
Creating a Story-Worthy Problem That Will Captivate an Audience
Image courtesy of IMDB and Netflix’s ‘Extraction.’ The story-worthy problem is the beating heart of all superlative fiction. Unfortunately, creating this central core can often be overlooked. This is particularly true for writers relying on school training. English teachers didn’t mind we used twenty-five metaphors on one page because their goal was to teach us Read more
Read MoreEnemy Without a Face: When Dealing With a Different Sort of ‘Villain’
The ‘enemy without a face’ is probably the hardest sort for a new writer to wrap his around. If you’ve been following along the recent blogs, I’ve been discussing a concept I developed to help you plot leaner, meaner, faster and cleaner. I call this concept, the Big Boss Troublemaker. Identify him/her/it? And smooth sailing. Read more
Read MoreThe Truth About Introverts & Why the Quarantine is Hard on Us, Too
Introverts tend to get a bad rap. No, we are not ALL serial killers. Okay…known serial killers. They have to catch you first 😀 . Wait, where was I? Oh, yeah. So, first of all, far too many people equate introversion with social anxiety, when those are two totally different topics. One can actually be Read more
Read MoreThe BBT: Meet the Big Boss Troublemaker & Brain Behind All Stories
Last post in our ‘Introduction to Writing’ series, we discussed how stories are namely a collision of IDEAS. I also introduced the core antagonist, what I call the BBT…or Big Boss Troublemaker. Sorry for the delay in posts. This quarantine has been…wow. Who knew March had 666 days? It’s like 2020 was doing just fine, then March Read more
Ideas Collide: Powerful Storms are the Center of All Great Stories
Every story begins with ideas. Alas, stories can only be created when at least two vastly different ideas collide. The place where these ideas meet is the BOOM, much like the weather. Storms erupt because two very different bodies of air meet…and don’t get along. Only one idea, however, can win. In the meantime, lots of metaphorical Read more
Read MoreQuiet: Have We Forgotten to Be Still in a World That Never Stops?
Can I just get off? Please? Quiet. It’s a rather strange experience if one has grown too accustomed to the go-go-go pace of the modern world. Recently—well, not too recently—my grandfather died. I was raised by my grandparents, so when a week and a half before Christmas he suddenly passed away? It was a blow. Read more
Read MoreStory Power: Why the Lecture? Why Can’t a Book Just Be a Book?
Story power. Human Power. Black Power. To me, story power, human power, female power, black power, et. al. are all trains that run along the same vast system of tracks known as ‘publishing.’ It’s why Black History Month is such a fantastic time to highlight authors of color, to maneuver otherwise fringe/invisible authors—schedule those ‘trains’—to Read more
The Synopsis: Why Love Hurts & Pain Can Be Good for Our Writing
There is one word known to strike fear into the hearts of most writers. Synopsis. Most of us would rather perform brain surgery from space using a lemon zester and a squirrel than be forced to boil down our entire novel into one page. Yes one. But alas we need to embrace the synopsis for numerous reasons. Read more
Read MoreBarnes & Noble Puts Literary Classics in Blackface for Black History Month
For those who might not know, in the United State, Black History Month is celebrated for the entire month of February. The point of dedicating an entire month is so we can bring focus to the works, art, history, and voices of a specific community within our vast and diverse nation. We can learn, grow, Read more
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