Tag Archives for " writing tips "
Author Tip Tuesday – Tip # 11 Character Arc
After I've spent time thinking about my story and loosely pinning scenes onto the three act structure + beat sheet, I try to get a sense just through my imagining, what the main character looks like. I
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #10 – Theme, Story Question and Logline
I can hear the impatient whimpers: when are we going to get to the actual writing tips of these author tips? Soon, very soon. Taking time to establish these “non-writing” points will pay off
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #9 The Beat Sheet
I love the beat sheet! Seriously, this simple outline changed the way I plotted books and made the whole process so much quicker. I've already discussed the main points, but I wanted to show you the beet
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #8 Climax and Resolution – the End is Near
The climax is the do or die scene. Everything comes to a head and it looks very dismal for our main character. We are left wondering if a happy ending is at all possible (maybe it's not). It's tempting
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #7 Plot Point Two
Plot point 2 is very similar to plot point 1. It's a conflicting event in the story that launches the third act. At this point things are not looking very good for our protagonist at all. If your main
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #6 Midpoint Reversal
What is the midpoint? It's just what it sounds like. It's the middle of Act 2, the middle of your book, 60minutes into a 120 minute movie. As writers, when we reach the midpoint, we know we are half way
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #5 Plot Point 1
We determined in the last tip that the inciting incident is the answer to “It all started when…” In other words, if this event never happened, the story couldn't have unfolded. This happens
Continue readingAuthor Tip Tuesday – Tip #4 The Inciting Incident
We touched on the Inciting Incident briefly in Tip #2, The Bones It Hangs On. The Inciting Incident (sometimes called the Catalyst or the Inciting Event) is the trigger that starts the story. It's not
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