This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss the relationship between stakes and agency. How do these aspects of plot and character work together to create forward drive in your story?
SWRT 287 | Crafting Character Arcs
Crafting character arcs takes planning, but it’s not difficult, especially if you reverse engineer your protagonist’s big shift.
SWRT 071 | Pacing
What is pacing? How do you decide the best pace for your story? And how do you achieve that pace? What kind of effect can pacing have for your readers? And why is pacing so different between books and movies? Check out the things we’ve mentioned section to check out those books we talked about – those we loved and even those we didn’t.
SWRT 070 | Writing Emotions
How should you use layers of emotion? And at what point in the writing process should you focus on getting them on the page? How should your character express their emotions and when can you tell if you are throttling them? Remember that not everything has to be big to be powerful and that each emotional moment for your character will have an emotional tail.
SWRT 069 | How to End your Story
What is the purpose of your ending? How do you create space for the reader to really feel the emotional impact of your story? And when should you plan how you are going to tie up those plot points and emotional questions you opened at the beginning of your story? How...
SWRT 068 | Evoking Emotion
Why do you want to evoke emotions in your reader? And what are some nuts and bolts ways to make that happen? Remember to stick to the basics, to structure your emotional payoffs, and that even emotions deserve an arc. We talk about how to handle this with tension and release, your character’s arc, and offsetting it from your physical climaxes. Don’t stray into melodrama, and keep that emotional pull all the way to the end of your novel!
SWRT 067 | Character Descriptions
How should you introduce your characters? We each bring an example showing how to use action or narrative exposition to introduce your character to your reader. Remember just like everything in writing your description should do more than just describe your character.
SWRT 066 | Theme
How do you define a stories theme? And should you start with a theme or let it develop naturally? We talk about how you can use the theme as a revelation, as well as how it connects readers to authors. Use theme as a layer of your story, balanced with the rest of your elements. And finally, Alida challenges us to write a story to a theme!
SWRT 065 | Writing Groups
This week's show is pulled from the archives. Previously released as video-only episode 2. Alida, Kathryn, and Matt discuss writing groups. What to look for, how you might benefit, when to join and when to run! VIDEO AUDIO SHOW NOTES What we talked about: The...
SWRT 064 | Story Collections, Novel-in-Stories, Serialization
How do you approach a short story collection? And when do you know you are writing one? What is the difference between a collection of short stories and a novel-in-stories? And what are the challenges of writing a short story collection? Why do some genre’s seem to lend themselves to serialization? And what is the difference between a serialized work, and a collection of short stories?
SWRT 063 | Short Stories: How they differ from novels
We all know short stories are short, but how does that change the way you write them? What is it with short stories and the ambiguous ending? And how can you tell if you are writing a short story, a lead magnet, or just a scene? Short stories are a great tool to use to better your writing craft so go out and write some, read some more, and enjoy yourself!