There are as many ways to begin your story as there are ways to procrastinate. Beginning to write your book or screenplay is easier than you think. All you have to do is sit down, get out a sheet of …
Novel / Fiction
Using Your Credo to Create Story Conflict
(Image from And Justice for All, 1979) You can't have story without conflict. As writers, it is important to investigate and become conscious of what we feel strongly about. Find those issues that …
Make it Dramatic
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” - Alfred Hitchcock Story moves as the result of complications that arise, not out of plot, but out of character and theme. As our protagonist attempts …
Everything You Need to Know is Within
"If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act." - Billy Wilder The purpose of story is to reveal a transformation. This shift in perception means a sort of death …
Act One: Maintaining Tension
“A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be …
The End of the Story Informs the Beginning
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For first-time writers, this is helpful advice. But let’s clarify. When we talk about “the …
3 Secrets for Getting Started on Writing Your First Novel
Every writer struggles with getting the story from imagination to the page. The first-time novelist confronts the special challenge of having never done this before. Here are three quick tips to …
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Shedding the Idea for Truth in Writing
It’s not just first-time novelists or screenwriters that struggle with getting their story from the imagination to the page. Every writer struggles with this. Here’s the thing: Our idea of our …
Writing for Your Ideal Reader
Good storytelling is about having at least a somewhat conscious relationship to your ideal reader. It is about understanding the most effective order of events. Hold the story loosely, and be willing …
Writing Act Three: Our Hero Accepts the Reality of Their Situation
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it does not “belong” to us, that we are simply a channel. In Act Three of our story, our …
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