Over the last few weeks, we dug into the primary and secondary elements that make up a great subplot. Today, I want to put that learning into action. We’re going to examine the logistics of weaving subplots into a story and identify the nine subplot elements in the book: The Read more
Subplots are secondary storylines woven around the main plot. Last time, I covered the four primary elements that must be present in order for a subplot to earn its place in a story. After confirming your subplots have those elements, it’s time to find little ways to make those storylines Read more
I love complex stories. I want layers. More characters, more twists, more subplots. As a result, my stories often end up as thick books. As an over-writer, I have to really scrutinize every part of my stories to see if it really needs to be there. Today, I want to Read more
One of the very first tips I posted on my website was about writing dialogue. I discussed writing distinct, realistic speech; and I gave two things to avoid: info dumps and accents spelled out. I stand by what I said back then, but I’ve added to my knowledge on the Read more
As a writer who loves to error on the side of too much rather than too little, I often struggle against the big bad word count when writing novels. I always need to cut. Cut words. Cut subplots. Cut characters. The latter being the hardest for me as character development Read more
There is a lot of writing advice out there, and most of it is just based on what works best for the writer. Every now and then, I like to do a post on simplifying all the writing advice. If you are overwhelmed by the writing craft, my hope is Read more
Today, I want to do something a little different. Instead of teaching a new concept, I’d like to revisit an old topic and focus on practical application. There is so much information thrown out for writers to learn, and often the application part of it is left for writers to Read more
A while ago I wrote a post on the seven types of memorable last lines, but I never flipped it to write about opening lines. Mostly because I was intimidated by the topic. One of my weaknesses as a writer is opening scenes, so speaking on opening lines (where people Read more
Let’s go back to our Character Under a Microscope series (when we dive into little details of character development) and talk about attachment styles in relationships. When creating your characters, most will be in a romantic relationship at some point during the story. When crafting these subplots, writers have to Read more
I’ve written a post on writing significant stakes and another on raising the stakes, but today I want to talk about layering stakes. How do you stack stakes to really grip your readers? Let’s do a quick review on story stakes, and then we’ll discuss layering them and practical ways Read more