Mushy Middle Tips for #NaNoWriMo

Hey NaNaWriMo writers! How’s it going? It’s mid-November and that means you’re deep in Act II and might be encountering some mushy middle difficulties. So here are some tips to get you through… [Click on the titles to read the whole blog post.] Mapping the Mushy Middle The key to not getting lost in the …
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Reading for Writers 101: Resolving a Disconnect Between Show & Tell

Sometimes when I’m reading a book, a scene takes me right out of the story because I don’t “buy” it. It’s not that what is taking place is completely implausible, it’s that the writer has not convinced me of its truth. I have faith that a skilled writer can make a reader believe anything. The …
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The Inciting Incident: Problem vs Opportunity

I confess I’m having trouble with my Act I. This is unusual for me. Typically I find setting up the story the easy part compared to Act II & III. So what’s wrong? After picking my first half dozen scenes apart and rewriting them multiple times, the problem finally became clear: The Inciting Incident lacks …
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Watching for Writers 101: Flash Forwards

I began the “Reading For Writers 101” blog series (for a full summary of posts, click here) because I believe writers can learn so much from reading books. Well, the same goes for watching television shows or films. Hence, a new series: Welcome! Today we’re going to learn how to effectively use flash forwards. A …
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Audiobook Pitfall: Scene Breaks

Since I’ve begun listening to audiobooks, I’ve noticed that not all books convert well to the audible format. So I started this little series: Audiobook Pitfalls. The sale of audiobooks is on the rise, and most new releases (not just bestsellers) are now made into audiobooks as well as e-books and print books, so it’s …
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How To Write Unpredictable Stories

When I read a book or watch a movie, I always try to figure out what is going to happen. For me, the most enjoyable stories keep me guessing right up to the end. The least enjoyable stories are the ones where I can predict the ending long before the finale. Now, you’re probably expecting …
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5 Tests for Writing Multiple POVs

Multiple POV means writing separate scenes from the viewpoints of different characters, staying in one character’s POV for an entire scene and not switching to another character’s POV until a new scene. Stories with multiple POVs are difficult to write. I’ve read more books that attempted this technique and failed than books where multiple POVs not …
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10 Tips for Writing Fight Scenes

Have you ever skipped a badly written fight scene to get back to the main story? I have, and I never missed it. That’s because although fight scenes are often critical to the plot, once the blows start flying, two things often happen. Writer #1 includes too little detail and there’s no tension. We don’t …
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Test Those Scene Connections – But, Therefore & Then

As I build my outline, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a good scene, and that led to these posts: Test That Scene – Is It Essential or Filler? and Test That Scene – Cut or Revise? But what about stringing those scenes together? Is there a test for that? Serendipitously I came …
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Test That Scene – Is it Essential or Filler?

The following #writingtips apply to all stories, but especially short ones where every scene must be essential. Happy Short Story Month! When I plot a story, I tend to think in terms of action. This is probably due to my screenwriter training. In a screenplay all you have to work with is action and dialogue. …
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