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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

scenes

What are Beats in Fiction Writing?

May 24, 2018 by Lori Devoti Leave a Comment
what are beats in fiction writing

Beats in Fiction Writing? Honestly, beats isn’t a term I use a lot, but it is a term I hear a lot, so I thought it would be good to define what beats in fiction are and why they matter. Beats in Fiction Writing Defined According to Sandra Scofield in her book, The Scene Book, … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft, Writing Tips Tagged: Beats, scenes, writetip

How to Write a Scene, Article 4 – Build Impact with Sequence

October 13, 2017 by Lori Devoti 1 Comment

So far in our discussion of how to write a scene, we’ve talked about what scene is, both as many think of it and as Dwight Swain defines it in Techniques of the Selling Writer. We’ve also gone over the importance of sequel and showing your characters motivation. Today we’ll discuss what some may get … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft Tagged: chapters, dwight swain, scenes, sequel, sequence

How to Write a Scene: A Step by Step Guide

August 7, 2013 by Amy Knupp 4 Comments
how to write a scene writer's block plan a scene

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…]

Posted in: Plotting, Scenes, Writing Tips Tagged: planning your novel, scenes

Motivation Reaction Units – pacing and character

May 23, 2011 by Lori Devoti 13 Comments
Boy chasing Dog

When I first started writing, I’d never heard of motivation reaction units (MRU). What I did know, though, was sometimes things just didn’t seem to flow. Sections of prose would feel awkward and just not right. So I would re-read and re-word until they did. Even after I did know what motivation reaction units were, … [Read more…]

Posted in: Pacing, Writing Craft, Writing Tips Tagged: characters, motivation, MRU, pacing, scenes

How to Write a Scene, Article Two, Scene Structure: Goal, Conflict, Disaster

September 29, 2010 by Lori Devoti 5 Comments
Building with Blocks

Miss the first article in How to Write a Scene series? Read it here. Article Two in How to Write a Scene, Scene Structure: Goal, Conflict, Disaster by Lori Devoti, a  How To Write Fiction Series. Goal, Conflict, Disaster is the basic scene structure of every good scene and yes, this means every scene should … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft Tagged: conflict, disaster, dwight swain, goal, scenes, sequel
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Techniques of the Selling Writer 
by Dwight V. Swain

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

Classic book on how to write books that readers will want to read!

This is one of the foundation books that all novelists should have on their bookshelf.

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Save The Cat!
by Blake Snyder

A book on screenwriting that is great for novelists too! Another must have for your How To Write library.

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