Auntie Deborah is back at her advice desk… I’ve been told that as a new writer I should write what I know. How can I apply this to writing a historical novel? Auntie Deborah: First of all, that old saw … Continue reading
Tag Archives: plotting
Plot is necessary for novels. This seems like a no-brainer. It’s the causal sequence of events in a book: This happened because this happened because this happened and so on. Events happen, problems, conflicts, and everything escalates until there’s a … Continue reading
Baldric concocted a cunning plan to scare the killer lawn gnome into staying away from the cave entrance so he could sneak in. He then grabbed the magical hedge trimmers and scarpered off into the forest. Writers sometimes use expositional sentences like … Continue reading
There’s a very cute little meme on the Interwebs that is supposed to be a writer’s Mission Statement for the day. It goes like this: 1) Drink coffee. 2) Make stuff up. Sounds good. Gives writers a chuckle. But it’s only … Continue reading
No wonder most folks think they suck at plotting—they do. Lately, I’ve read implausible plots, overly melodramatic plots only missing the villain twirling a mustache, plots so tangled there’s no way you can get the synopsis to five pages and have it make sense, and complex plots where the romance (and the character) are lost in the action. How do you fix this? It all goes back to character.
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