In part 1 of this guide to writing a thrilling argument, I touched on character motivation, reader interest, and the central truth that an argument follows almost all the same rules as a fight scene. We paused on the idea that your characters should want to win, and they may rush past lesser arguments to
Including an argument in your story can sound like a sure path to an easy win – two or more characters airing their dirty laundry, getting mad, and saying exactly how they feel. It’s drama in action, a moment around which you can build a whole story, and it’s also incredibly easy to get wrong.
A Christmas Carol, The Catcher in the Rye, Heart of Darkness. Other than stellar writing and compelling characters, what makes a story stand the test of time? How do certain novels achieve the lofty ‘classic’ status while others fade into relative obscurity? The answer is all in the subtext. Authors like Charles Dickens, J.D Salinger and
We’ve talked before about the benefits multiple antagonists can bring to a story – and how to give each a unique purpose in the narrative – but what are authors supposed to do when those antagonists are on different sides and, like any interesting characters, have specific, often contradictory, goals? Antagonistic forces have natural potential to not
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