Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
It’s appropriate that I got letter “C” since Character Change is something I frequently write about on this blog. That’s because it is so crucial! I think it might even be the most important part of a good story. So, with that in mind, let’s launch this baby! 3 Tips for Writing Character Change Don’t …
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Two weeks ago I blogged about How to Create a Character Arc from Plot, followed my own advice, and came up with… multiple character arcs for my heroine. Yep. At least four or five, and I’m not sure which one is the right one for the story. What’s an I-have-too-many-ideas writer to do? Well, here …
Continue reading “Choosing the Right Character Arc”
Last year, on a complete whim, the WriteOnSisters signed up for the “Blogging From A to Z Challenge.” We had no plan, no theme, just a vague idea that we’d craft a post based on each letter of the alphabet and that it would have something to do with writing, because we’re a writing blog. …
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There are lots of things that make a story good. In fact, I’m constantly overwhelmed trying to keep track of them all. But what elevates most stories above the rest is a satisfying character arc. What is this? Well, at the most basic level it is a story where the character changes. If your character …
Continue reading “How to Create a Character Arc from Plot”
If we were having coffee, I’d be tempted to cancel on you. Nothing personal, I’m just feeling like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish what I’ve set out to do and I want to be working on the novel more. Remember back in January when I set deadlines and downloaded an …
Continue reading “Weekend Coffee Share – Timetable Edition”
Last week I blogged about the Hook vs Plot Twist Conundrum and realized it would be a good exercise to take some books off my shelf and read the jackets to learn more about what makes a good hook. After perusing my collection of YA and MG novels, I decided all good hooks had these …
Continue reading “4 Components of a Good Hook”
Last month I wrote about a story’s hook. And two weeks ago Robin wrote about reversals, the big and the small. For the purpose of this post, I’m talking about the big type of reversal – the plot twist! I’ll explain how I got twists and hooks mixed up and how to tell them apart. To refresh, a HOOK …
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For those of us in the northern hemisphere, February is a brutal, soul-sucking, mind-numbing month of misery. It’s so damn cold. And dark. And depressing. If you live in the city, all the pretty white snow has turned to salty grey sludge. If you live in the country, you’re probably buried up to your eavestroughs …
Continue reading “3 Steps to Beat the Winter Writer Blahs”
If we were having coffee here in Toronto, we’d probably be strolling around outside, because for the first time in two weeks the temperature is not in the negative double digits. Today is a positively spring-like -4 degrees Celsius! During our obligatory Canadian chit-chat about the weather, I’d tell you that in the middle of …
Continue reading “Weekend Coffee Share – Writer Brain Freeze”
I have begun outlining a horror story, something that has turned out to be so much fun that I wonder why it took me so long to seize this genre and make it my own. But better late than never! Last week I blogged about the one simple rule of writing horror. This week I’m …
Continue reading “4 Emotive Tools of Horror”