Category: plot

• January 26, 2024

  Advice for beginning writers 5: hive mind compilation!

  I recently asked on my Facebook page what advice my fellow writers have for beginners. I got some great responses! Paraphrased by me, with credit given to the author who contributed the idea, here is what people offered. I will put author names in quotes as their official Facebook page is named, so that you…
• January 22, 2024

  Advice for beginning writers 3: focus on learning the craft (by doing)

  When you’re writing your first novel or first few short stories, focus on learning, growing, and on the story you want to tell. Focus on discovering the process that works for you as a writer. Don’t worry about the market or what you think will or won’t sell. Don’t have expectations about how good it…
• January 19, 2024

  Advice for beginning writers 2: don’t force plot

  My first novel will never be published, largely because the plot does not hold up that much. This is because I forced my characters to do some really stupid things, all to advance the plot to a particular place I wanted the plot to go, when that place didn’t end up making sense. A good…
• January 12, 2024

  Side quests vs. Sublots

  Today I want to discuss the difference between what I call “side quests” versus subplots. What’s the distinction? A subplot connects with the main plot in (usually multiple) ways and affects the main plot. It’s one of the threads that compose the main plot, so to speak. A side quest does not connect so much…
• January 10, 2024

  When characters act counterintuitively

  Is it ok for your characters to do something counterintuitive? Of course! Great characters in great books do this all the time. The key is pretty simple: just make sure they have a reason not to do the logical or simple thing. Maybe their goals aren’t obvious and the seemingly obvious thing to do doesn’t serve…
• January 8, 2024

  Different ways a scene or conversation can advance the plot

  There are various way a scene or conversation in your novel can advance the plot–because every scene should advance the plot in some way (prologues maybe excepted, as they take place before the plot begins and set it up). No scene is going to, or needs to, do all of the things I’m going to…
• January 5, 2024

  Let your characters face the consequences of their actions (also, my book is on sale!)

  I posed a question to my beta reader for the second edition of book two last year, before I sent the manuscript off to my editor. I asked her if I should soften a particular bad decision one of my younger characters makes in the story. Her response was really gratifying to me. “She’s what,…
• January 3, 2024

  What is most important to you? Character, plot, style, theme?

  Every writer and every story is different. Honestly, I think every writer will hold the basic building blocks of written fiction in a different tension. A unique tension. These building blocks are character, plot, style, and theme. Personally, I think the best stories put character, and character development, first. We see the characters grow. We see…
• December 22, 2023

  What makes a good subplot?

  Today I thought I’d break down some of the things that a good subplot will contribute to your plot. Every subplot does NOT need to do every one of these. But it should do some of them. What do you think? What are some of your favorite subplots in famous books or movies?
• December 20, 2023

  Creative Writing: Don’t force a theme

  Theme is so important. Along with character, if you write an impactful story, theme is one of the two main things readers will remember long after they forget most of the intricacies of your plot. The thing about theme, though: you can’t force it. Some major themes of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope…