Yesterday we talked about pacing, and tomorrow we’ll cover tension. Today, I want to discuss a related term: Suspense. You may be asking yourself, why are we talking about pacing, suspense and tension as subsets of plot? Because while characterization plays an important role in managing these three elements of […]
101 TIWIK
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Imagine an eight hour rafting trip with nothing but rapids from start to finish. It would be exhausting. Likewise, a rafting trip with just a few rapids and a long, slow river would be boring. The trick to writing a well-paced book is to have a lot of rapids interspersed […]
Hello, my name is Selah and I suffer from subplotoholism. When I get started with subplots I can’t stop. Which is probably why a project that was supposed to be one book is now planned out into five. A lot of writing instruction books and articles tell you how to […]
One of the biggest issues I’ve faced as a writer is how to get Plot and Character to work together. Today begins week two of a two week mini-series on Plot in 101 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Wrote My First Book. Next week, I’ll start talking in […]
Knowing how to write a great ending is kind of like being a good lover. While the climax is important, it’s not the only part of the process. A good lover understands the importance of foreplay and afterglow. In terms of writing, these are the parts of a great ending: […]
I’m not going to lie to you: Middles are hard. They are still hard for me, almost twenty years since I wrote my first one. And I have to admit I was kind of dreading writing this post. How am I going to tell all of you how to write […]