After publishing my latest novel, "The Healer", I've chosen to take some time out. Four novels in decade is not prolific writing, but I'm meant to be retired. This is my hobby and a passion. Some writers can churn out a novel in three months. Not me. Writing was never about churning out material, it …
Category: For newbie authors
The Healer
I am pleased to announce my latest novel, 'The Healer' is now available on Amazon in e-book and print form. The Healer is a slight departure from my three previous novels insofar that it isn't strictly part of the Science Fiction & Fantasy genre. That might seem strange since I have always described myself as …
Story by Numbers
Recently I bought Story by Numbers by Adam Skelter. I had watched a number of YouTube presentations on the "The Art of Story Channel" and was impressed with the quality of the presentations and movie analysis, and wanted to delve further into his approach to story development. First, a warning. Skelter uses some colourful language …
Plausibility – the biggest plot hole of all.
As a science fiction and fantasy writer it might seem odd for me to pick up on the idea that storylines should be plausible. After all, in the world of science fiction we have time travel, aliens, dystopian future worlds, mind control and many other implausible features in our writings. But we persuade our readers …
Continue reading Plausibility – the biggest plot hole of all.
Connecting with the reader
One of the most difficult jobs for any new writer is to connect with his/her readers and build up a fan base. The big writers such as Stephen King, Robin Cook, Lee Child and John Grisham have huge fan bases. The fans know when they publish a new book what to expect and are rarely …
The Heroine’s journey
Recently, I came across a book about "The Heroine's Journey" by Gail Carriger. It piqued my curiosity since I had done a lot of research the Hero's Journey and I wondered how the Heroine's journey could be different. Joseph Campbell was first to use the phrase, and his ideas where developed and expanded by Chistopher …
The protagonist’s world view
This month I want to look at some of the ideas in Lisa Cron's book, Story Genius. In one of the quotes from the book, she says: At its most basic, a story is about how someone grapples with a problem they can't avoid, and how they change in the process... Maybe that's a little …
Story Structure — Character Arc
In my previous blog I showed how a traditional Three-Act Structure can be broken down for practical purposes into four acts of approximate equal portions, with eight sequences, 8 plot points, and 8 stages of character arc. I don't claim credit for any of these ideas. The diagram is the result of simply fusing together …
Story structure simplified
Since I started this blog I have often visited the subject of story structure. It's one of those subjects that excites me. Some writers will throw their hands in the air in horror at the idea of structure. Story is emotion and there is no unique formula that will emote a feeling in reader. It …
Story types — Tragedies and the dark side
I'm a writer of speculative fiction that likes to write stories that have have positive endings. I want to see my main characters overcome their weaknesses and transform into heroes and heroines. For example, Luke Skywalker transforms from a shy farm boy to Jedi Knight. (Yes, I'm a big Star Wars fan). I like to …
JMJ Williamson 