This week on the Story Works Round Table, we talk about Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton’s great American tragic love story.
SWRT Summer 2023
At this week’s Story Works Round Table, writers discuss the benefits of group coaching. Next month begins the writers book club and more!
SWRT 028 | Emotional Wounds
We sit down with Becca Puglisi to talk all things Emotional Wounds, and other writing resources. We talk about the resources she has for writers, and how they can be used in a wide range of applications. How can we use them to help show rather than tell, and make your writing richer and more immersive? We talk about writing challenging personal things, how to use character growth to challenge readers and why context is so important. And what is the difference between a villain and protagonist?
SWRT 027 | First Person Point of View
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the first person point of view (1st person POV). We get into strengths and weaknesses, a common misconception, and the popularity of first person in YA and NA fiction. Before you listen to this episode make sure you have...
SWRT 026 | Writing Villains
Is writing villains easy? How can you develop a villain without a point of view? Is a villain always seen as evil? How can you get into your villains head? Can we effectively troubleshoot our own villains? And what about writing them with a point of view? So take your villain, give them a good shave and a motivation and get writing!
SWRT 025 | Re-readable Books
Should all authors aspire to write a re-readable book? Does it have to be re-readable in order to be enjoyable? What can we learn from books we have re-read? We talk about reasons we re-read books, get deep into a food analogy, and leave you with a large list of our favorites we hope you enjoy!
SWRT 024 | Twists
What is a twist and how do you separate it from your typical surprising ending? Do all twists have to be massive plot level revelations? And is a twist just a gimmick? Should all books have twists? And at what point in your story should your twist arrive? Finally – we discuss how all stories can have twists and challenge everyone to write one of their own!
SWRT 023 | 3D Villains
What makes a good villain? How do you avoid cliches? How do you effectively layer your villains? And how do you use villains in different genres? Can you have an ideal as a villain? And what about those villains we don’t vanquish by the end of the book? Don’t forget that your villainy must be tangible to your protagonist and relatable to your reader!
SWRT 022 | Inspiration
What is a high concept idea? And do you need one in order to write? Should you build your story around your theme or let it emerge through your story? And what about writing to genre conventions? We talk about what inspires us, how to write in and out of the box, and shut down that voice of resistance in your head!
SWRT 021 | Distinct Characters
How do you know if you have created a distinct character? How important is role? And what is a supporting character anyway? How do motivation and subplot work toward giving your characters individuality? And what sort of tools can you use to help create these individuals? In the end Alida wraps it all up together, and even gives some great exercises to help you create distinct characters.
SWRT 020 | Setting
How is setting different from world building? What do you put on the page and what should you leave out? How much detail is too much detail? And how do you keep your setting active in your story? Robert gives great practical ways to evaluate your style of writing setting, and how to make it better!