This week on the Story Works Round Table: conversations about craft, Kathryn and Alida discuss writing backstory. It’s been coming up for both of us lately, including in Alida’s fiction coaching group. What is the one critical element to getting it right? How do you successfully transition your narrative into and out of backstory? Want a great example of a great author deftly handling backstory? We got one!
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Kathryn discuss what to do with your villain in act II. As we know, they aren’t usually black-hat-evil-doers, but we still need an escalation of stakes for our protagonist. How do we keep act II moving along at a good pace, whether our villain is a bad person or a force or situation in our character’s life that causes challenges? We look at multiple scenarios for our heroes and what to do to keep them and the villain rising toward the climax.
What are the benefits and pitfalls of writing groups? What kind of criticism is good criticism? And how can I be a better critic?
Have you ever struggled with your antagonist or supporting characters motivation? Or wonder what kind of work you need to put in before you start writing? We even get into what we do for character sketches and how our journals will lead to posthumous fame!