Articles in the Fiction Writing Category

Musings on the NaNoWriMo Mechanism [Guest Post]
Posted in Fiction Writing on 4 December 2008

Through the month of November, Jen Nipps participated in what has become an international event, National Novel Writing Month. She was kind enough to share her post-NaNoWriMo thoughts with us. Do you have any reflections post-NaNoWriMo to share?
Another National Novel Writing Month ended a few days ago. Whether I won or lost doesn’t matter, even [...]

Show, Not Tell, for a Winning Story by Jean Knill
Posted in Plot and Structure on 27 September 2008

When reading short story submissions, if there’s one thing that will put editors’ or competition judges’ teeth on edge it has to be telling instead of showing. Many stories of old were written like this – that’s why we sometimes find them a difficult read. We haven’t been given word pictures to stimulate our minds.
All [...]

In Cahoots [Guest Post]
Posted in Fiction Writing on 21 February 2008

Collaborating on a novel with your spouse is like sharing a piece of bread that only one of you wants toasted.  When one is heartbent for modern romance and the other is set to strike out down the stony path toward gothic horror, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be to meet [...]

Does All Writing Teach?
Posted in Fiction Writing on 1 February 2008

“If the writer has done his/her job, I come away with new understanding, hopefully having learned something.”
~ Mary Evelyn Lewis

On her January post for the Absolute Write Blog Chain Challenge, Mary made the above comment which got me wondering: What exactly is a writer’s job? When we write should we always be focused on [...]

Part Four: Hooks, Hangers and the Sequence of Events
Posted in Plot and Structure, Writing Lessons From Stargate SG1 Series on 9 December 2007

A primary writer’s tip involves the importance of your beginning. The first sentence, first paragraph, first page, first scene, ‘begin’ your story and are, perhaps, the most important words of your entire book. The final page/paragraph of each chapter is also significant and so is the ending.
These are Hooks, Hangers and the Sequence of Events. [...]

SG1 Series Part Three: Action & Dialogue
Posted in Action and Dialogue, Writing Lessons From Stargate SG1 Series on 6 December 2007

All Show, No Tell - The Audio/Visual Experience
One of the greatest lessons writers can gain by watching television series (and movies) is the importance of action and dialogue. In today’s world, we expect richer, active, even sensual experiences. We fill our entertainment hours with games, movies, soap operas, drama, theatre, ballet, situational comedy and reality [...]

SG1 Series Part Two: Character Development
Posted in Character Development, Writing Lessons From Stargate SG1 Series on 5 November 2007

Characters are an elemental part of every story. An intriguing plot with a good story-arc is important but without approachable characters your story will never connect with an audience. Readers need characters. Characters are the socket for your stories power supply. It is through your characters that readers can plug into the plot and experience [...]

SG1 Series Part One: Story-Arc, Plot and SubPlot
Posted in Plot and Structure, Writing Lessons From Stargate SG1 Series on 1 November 2007

One of the most remarkable things I’ve noticed with the Stargate SG1 series is the almost decorative design of the story-arc. Each episode has one but each season also has one and the series as a whole has one as well. The three story-arcs work in unison to develop an intricate weave of plot and [...]

Five Part Series: Writing Lessons From Stargate SG-1
Posted in Action and Dialogue, Writing Lessons From Stargate SG1 Series on 26 October 2007

It is interesting to watch television in the writer frame of mind. What would be, to the average viewer, an enjoyable and almost effortless opportunity to relax in the world’s of our fictional friends, becomes an intriguing weave of technique, language, structure, and seamless formula; a masterful journey through character development, plot, sub-plot, continuity, hooks [...]

Part Five: Plot Humps For Planners
Posted in Fiction Writing, Planner/Pantser Six Part Series on 5 October 2007

While planners tend to know intimate details about their plots and characters this omnipotent knowledge can often prove more troublesome then the blind faith of ‘seat of the pants’ writers. Many writers find their story and characters seem to take on a life of their own. Sometimes, that life simply won’t be boxed into pre-arranged [...]