This month I want to discuss villains again. Not all stories contain a villain but for those that do, the villain is the most important star of the story. Why do I say that? Because without the villain there is no story. Villains fascinate us. Why do they behave the way they do? What is …
Tag: character arc
Writing Character
Many of the articles on writing fiction differentiate between character-driven stories and plot-driven stories. I find the distinction is a bit of a misnomer as all stories are really character-driven. For example, James Bond stories may well be action-filled but without Bond committed to his goal/mission there would be no story at all. What I …
Structure and character arc
Some writers don't like the idea of story structure and reject it on the grounds that any such approach would be too rigid for them. Structures like the Hero's Journey, the Three-Act structure, and the Sequence Method may appeal to some writers, but not all. But even if you don't like to write in a …
Character Arc
As a writer, if you want to study story telling there is no better source than world of screenwriting where Hollywood has turned the art of story telling into a science. Of course, writing a novel and writing a screenplay are very different mediums: movies are visual and novels are written. But they both share …
Theme – the magic ingredient within a story
In my last blog, I tried to define story as: “ …a tale about a character or characters, set in a particular environment or time, who struggle to deal with an important problem or opportunity that comes into their live(s) and which sets in motion a sequence of events and actions that logically lead to …
Continue reading Theme – the magic ingredient within a story
Story essence
Recently, I purchased “Story trumps structure”, by Steven James. I was attracted to the book by its provocative title and the foreward by Donald Maass, who I much admire. Although the book is mostly a manifesto for organic writing (‘pantsing’), as opposed to plotting and outlining, it is still an excellent read for all types …
JMJ Williamson 