I’m certain that most book writers are intimately familiar with how difficult it can be to write a PLOT that engages readers from the first sentence to the last. But determining, developing, and maintaining the THEME (singular or plural) of your book demands a considerable amount of effort, too.
Tag: plot
Resisting the Kitchen Sink
By Dianna Sanchez A few years back, I attended a reading by Daniel Jose Older and Zoraida Cordova at which they both talked about their
Grace Lin on the Craft of Storytelling
Part 1 of 2: Grace Lin on the Craft of Storytelling Grace Lin, a New York Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for
On Car Repair and Rewrites
Guest Post by Almitra Clay Especially for all you NaNoWri-mers with fresh drafts, here’s a reprise of a popular post. As I have rewritten the
Finding the Beats: Plotting for Pantsers
Do you ever get a book idea in your head but don’t know where it’s going? Do you find that you have a saggy middle?
A Launch Day Ode To My Editor
Sure, authors get acknowledgement pages to wax poetic about all the many, many people who help turn a manuscript into an actual book, but sometimes an
The 7 Layer Cake Writing Method
Baking a 7 layer cake is like writing a story. You have so many tempting and tasty choices to make, and each new layer builds
The Plotter, Pantsed
By Dianna Sanchez Recently, I baked banana cookies. I was doing a series of posts on holiday recipes because my book, A Witch’s Kitchen,
Plotting a Novel with Sticky Notes
This pantser has gone plotter, and for one particular reason: Speed. My first attempt at a novel took me two years. I wrote it by
Animation, Illustration and Writing – Part 2: Planning
By Sarah Lynne Reul (This is part two of a three-part series – part one focused on Iterations, and part three is on Observation.) When starting a new
Book Review: SAVE THE CAT! by Blake Snyder
I found SAVE THE CAT! The Last Book on Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need through a novelist’s blog. I was scouring the internet for help
What Shape Is That Story?
While reading John Green’s Looking for Alaska recently, I was surprised by the shape of the story. It reminded me of other authors who have