When plotting your book the scene you probably know immediately is the Inciting Incident. It’s the event that kicks off all of the action in your book. The Inciting Incident is what pushes your character to make some choice or embark on some journey that is the main purpose of your story. The Inciting Incident … [Read more…]
If you are familiar with most of the common plot structures for fiction, both for novelists and screenwriters, you have heard the term Ordinary World. Even if you aren’t familiar with these plotting structures, the term kind of gives it away. The Ordinary World is the world in which your protagonist lives before the events … [Read more…]
by Elisabeth Sharp McKetta I’ve long had good luck dividing writing into distinct stages and forcing them not to mingle: first there is the brainstorm stage (usually takes place on hikes or in the shower, but occasionally in the middle of the night when I wake to feed the baby). Second there is the compost … [Read more…]
How do you plot a mystery? Ask ten different authors, and you’ll get ten different responses. Everyone’s method is unique. However, genre conventions dictate that certain reader expectations must be met. When writing cozy mysteries or traditional mysteries, readers expect a puzzle to solve, an amateur sleuth, a collection of suspects, and an exciting climax … [Read more…]
When I stumbled through my first manuscript eleven years ago, I didn’t know much about scenes. I didn’t know how to write a scene. I didn’t know much about writing a book, come to think of it, but the best way to learn is to just do it. (And, of course, read up on the … [Read more…]