Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Last month it occurred to me that a handful of basic opening scenarios crop up in a large number of stories. I’m not talking about those tropes we’ve all heard about (alarm clocks ringing, watching the sun rise, or waking up from a dream), but situations and specific types of events writers use to grab …
Continue reading “5 Common Story Openings Done Wrong”
Mission Code Name: 3, 2, 1… BLASTOFF to Stellar Writing Security Clearance: Unclassified Mission Objectives: To meet new life forms and engage in shared and mutually beneficial discourse on a range of topics. Mission Status: Success! Co-Commander Rivera’s reflections report: While it is never easy to commit a month to a venture of any kind, …
Continue reading “2015 Blogging From A to Z Mission Debriefing”
This is our last Blogging A from Z post. The mission was a success and soon the space capsule will splash down. Crowds will cheer and confetti will litter the web. But before we blow the bolts on the hatch door and get some much-needed rest, let’s take a moment to reflect on everything we …
Continue reading “Z is for Zymurgy”
Heather and I both read and write young adult fiction, so we have a solid understanding of this market and what makes it tick. In the last decade, the popularity of YA has hit the stratosphere. Author megastars rise up from nowhere almost overnight. Big movie franchises and huge book deals are becoming normal events. …
Continue reading “Y is for Young Adult Fiction”
For writers, words make the Earth spin round. We can battle extraterrestrial invaders or colonize a new galaxy all with the power of our language. We use words every day, and yet we still want to blast them with a death ray when they refuse to obey. Today it’s all about the words and the …
Continue reading “V is for Vocabulary”
Writing a book is not as labor intensive as, say, launching a space mission, but sometimes it feels like it is. I use Trello to keep my sanity in check. It helps me manage all my brainstorming, to do lists, blog posts, home repairs, work deadlines and even my kid’s schedules…all in one place. And …
Continue reading “T is for Trello”
In the predawn light we commit them. We are breathless from a looming deadline, or perhaps blinded to our mistakes by pride. We might try to hide them. We dress them in setting and disguise them with witty dialogue. We pray no one will notice our blunder. Yet the error remains, a viper coiled within …
Continue reading “S is for Sins”
If you’re a plotter, or if you read Heather’s O is for Outlines post, you know about tentpoles. These are crucial events in every story that give the plot a shape. Pinch points act like the secondary flanking poles on your tent. They prop up the story structure between the first plotpoint and the midpoint, …
Continue reading “P is for Pinch Points”
Narrative is a story’s fuel, and just like rocket fuel, if you use the right amount you head for the stars in style. Add too little, and you get no lift off. Add too much, and we know what happens, and it’s not good. To make matters more complicated, narrative is a compound – POV, …
Continue reading “N is for Narrative”
If you’re a plotter like Heather and I are, you should know about the importance of the midpoint event. It’s one of those important story structure tentpoles Heather will be telling you all about in her O is for Outlining post. The midpoint is when critical new information is introduced to the story and it …
Continue reading “M is for Midpoint”