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First things first: no, I’m not talking about the Arthur Miller play The Crucible or the film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. There will be no witches or men getting crushed to death by stones here, I’m afraid. Instead, a literary crucible is a narrative mechanism coined by writer James Frey designed to …
[Read more...] about What Is A Crucible, And Why Should You Include One In Your Writing?
What set your character on their path through the story? Yes, they should have a goal, but why is that goal so important to them? What kind of event is enough to justify telling a whole story about the reaction? A talented author can turn pretty much any event into a justifiable reason to follow a …
[Read more...] about What Is ‘Fridging’, And How Can You Avoid It?
Characters, and the relationships between them, are essential to a good story. Sometimes, stories require, or at least tolerate, a large cast. Other times, medium is a better fit – lots of variety and options for location and activity, but more intimate than the A Song of Ice and Fire cast. Then …
[Read more...] about The Unexpected Benefits Of Working With A Tiny Cast
Twenty years ago, you might not have heard of George R. R. Martin, who, at that time, would have been merely the author of the modestly successful fantasy novel A Game of Thrones. In the years following, he would produce the sequels A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows, all of …
[Read more...] about 5 Things George R. R. Martin Can Teach You About Writing
Taste is subjective, but at the core of whether or not a book finds an audience is its ability to invite the reader in; to become an experience the reader is having, rather than just a second-hand account. Achieving this feat is usually a mix of content and style, but if it’s something you want to …
[Read more...] about Sympathy Isn’t Empathy – Here’s Why That’s Your Problem
What would have happened if Tolkien crammed the entire contents of The Silmarillion into a prologue to The Lord of the Rings? Many Middle-earth fans find it hard enough to slog through The Silmarillion’s 500 pages of mythopoetic history; there’s no way most first-time readers would make it to the …
[Read more...] about 4 Signs Your Backstory Is Upstaging Your Real Story
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