ABC story plotting divides a narrative into three strands: the A story (main protagonist), the B story (secondary character), and the C story (additional character or subplot). This technique enhances storytelling clarity and pacing, allowing for character exploration and thematic depth. Balance is key, and flexibility in structure is encouraged.
Category Archives: Writing Tips
How To Set Up Hooks Like A Boss
The blog discusses two types of hooks for engaging audiences: the commercial hook, which summarizes the essence of a project to attract viewers, and the dramatic hook, which immerses the audience in character-driven tension. Effective use of these hooks enhances storytelling by raising stakes and maintaining interest throughout the narrative.
Insight: My Writing Method
The blog outlines a personalized writing method in seven stages: generating ideas, creating loglines, outlining the story, breaking down scenes, drafting a rough version, revising drafts, and preparing for submissions. It emphasizes the importance of iterative processes and authenticity, offering insights to help writers discover their unique approach to storytelling.
More Writing Books You Must Read
This list highlights ten essential writing books, covering various topics such as novel structure, screenwriting techniques, and grammar. Recommendations include “Save The Cat! Writes A Novel,” “The 21st Century Screenplay,” and “Don’t Screw Up Your Story.” Each book offers unique insights to enhance writing skills and storytelling effectiveness.
10 Writing Tips To Keep You Writing
This week marks my fourteenth anniversary of writing, prompting a reflection on valuable lessons learned. Key writing tips include embracing imperfection, planning but remaining flexible, finding a supportive community, managing writing time effectively, reading extensively, discovering a niche, avoiding harmful comparisons, accepting trial and error, supporting peers, and prioritizing self-care.
How To Avoid Genre Missteps In Your Writing
This blog explores the concept of genre in writing, distinguishing it from theme. It emphasizes understanding your genre by analyzing existing works, avoiding outdated tropes, and creatively playing with audience expectations. By twisting familiar conventions, writers can craft fresh narratives and stand out in a competitive landscape.
How To Set Up Stakes Like A Boss
The blog emphasizes the importance of raising stakes in storytelling to maintain reader engagement. It defines stakes as increasing obstacles that challenge characters’ goals, illustrated through examples, including Percy Jackson and the Triple Goddess. By elevating these challenges, writers enhance story pacing and investment, ultimately avoiding monotony in narrative progression.
How To Set Up and Pay Off Your Stories
The blog discusses the concept of “setting up and paying off” in storytelling, illustrated by examples from the film Knives Out and the novel Of Mice and Men. It emphasizes the importance of ensuring that elements introduced early on are resolved later, linking audience expectations and maintaining engagement throughout the narrative.
How To Format Your Radio Play Like A Boss
If you’ve never written a radio script, it can be quite a change from writing a screenplay, a theatre play or a novel. The whole thing is built on you setting an atmosphere so we can understand where we are and what’s going on by only using audible clues. Sounds terrifying, right? Here in thisContinueContinue reading “How To Format Your Radio Play Like A Boss”
How To Format Your Theatre Play Like A Boss
Understanding how to properly format the work you’re writing so it’s clear and readable for the medium you’re using is really important. Writing for the screen is not the same as writing for the stage, the radio or a novel. In this blog I’m going to cover how to format your script when writing aContinueContinue reading “How To Format Your Theatre Play Like A Boss”