Falsely Building Tension
I was reading a book recently, in what was supposed to be a tense scene. The writer had done all the other things correctly to build tension — they had shorter sentences. Shorter words. Breathless pacing. Interruptions.
I still found myself rolling my eyes and not being fully drawn in. I knew I was supposed to be tense. Instead, I was skimming to the end of the conflict to the part where the story started back up again.
It took me a few minutes to figure out why I’d resisted being engaged.
It’s something that my husband…
Continuing Series on Story Structure
NOTE: This is part of a series on story structure that I decided to do. I will be collecting them all up and putting them into a book once I’m finished.
There are times when you just have a single item that your main character is going to be searching for. They are going on a quest, and while they might have additional adventures while on this quest, their primary goal is to find this item.
There can be quests tucked into other story structures. But the main driving force of the quest structure is…
Harnessing Critical Voice
One of the pieces of advice that gets handed out to writers is that you need to read, both in the genre you write in as well as outside that genre.
In general, I agree with this advice, though I might phrase it differently: if you regularly create story, you should consume story. I know more than one writer who, in addition to reading, also watches TV as a method of consuming story.
However, for a lot of writers, it’s difficult to turn off that critical voice. Instead of reading for enjoyment and to consume story, you’re…
Basics of Story Structure
NOTE: This is part of a series on story structure that I decided to do. I will be collecting them all up and putting them into a book once I’m finished.
The reason why I’m covering this structure next is that it’s one of the more popular structures. You probably are already familiar with it, if not consciously then unconsciously, because you’ve consumed this structure so often in western literature.
You’ll see that this structure has something in common with the three-act structure, namely, they can both be broken down into three sections. …
Waiting it Out
A couple of weeks ago, I got my first vaccine. I’ll get the second in a short while. My husband is a week behind me. We figured that it would be better that way — so he could take care of me if I got sick with the first vaccine (and I did) then I could take care of him if he got sick (which he didn’t).
In the meantime, we’re in that in-between stage. So many of our friends have already received their full vaccine. Then again, these people either have issues (cancer, open-heart surgery, etc.)…
Thoughts on World Building
For me, one of the best parts of being a writer is making stuff up. I love this part of the process. It’s part of the reason why I write into darkness. I don’t always know where a story is going, so I get to make things up on the fly.
I sometimes describe my writing as jumping off a cliff, trusting that my wings will form on the way down. It’s exhilarating, and scary, and fun, all at the same time.
(And no, I’m not an adrenaline junky, why would you ask that?)
Using the Three-Act Structure in Fiction
NOTE: This is part of a series on story structure that I decided to do. I will be collecting them all up and putting them into a book once I’m finished.
Another of what I consider basic structures for telling a story is the three-act structure. The three-act structure has been around forever. According to Wikipedia, it’s been in existence since at least the fourth century, A.D.
This is just going to be a brief overview of the three-act structure. …
Capturing Tastes from the Past
My body is weird. I figured I’d just get that out of the way first. There have been several times in my life where I’ve developed a life-threatening allergy out of the blue, only to have it disappear after a few years. In the past, fish caused me to go into anaphylactic shock, and now I can eat sushi all day long. Any amount of dairy used to give me horribly, distressing GI issues. Then, for several years, I could eat dairy without any consequences.
My most recent morphing allergy was eggs. I eliminated eggs…
Story Structure You Should Know
I always view the seven-point plot as something that rides along inside of most of the other story structures that you already know. This is just going to be an overview of the seven-point plot structure. If you’d like to go into it in a lot more detail, you can pick up Business for Breakfast Volume 3: The Professional Storyteller.
I learned about the seven-point plot structure from Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. …
A hack that may help your energy levels
I have a dear friend who has metabolic issues. She has had to do a lot of experimenting to improve her quality of life.
Because she’s tried all these different things, she has had some really good advice for me, for things I should try. These things have changed my life.
For example, I knew I had a potassium deficiency. However, I had no interest in taking six or eight pills a day to make up for it, as pre-made pills contain such a low dose of potassium.
Leah
Leah Cutter sold her first short story back in 1997, and continues to write and sell both her fiction and non-fiction. She supports herself with her writing.
