If you're a writer and interested in the art of storytelling then you can learn a lot from the world of movies by breaking down stories into their component parts. In my previous blog I focused on how the story narrative can be broken down further into sequences. Yet another way to break down the …
Tag: Plot
Sequences and Tension
In last month's blog, I covered some aspects of sequences for writers, and in particular Darrin and Travis Donelly's '10-day Screenplay'. This month I want to look again at sequences from a slightly different perspective by looking at the use of 'tension'. In Paul Joseph Gulino's book, 'Screenwriting the sequence approach - The hidden structure …
How many story lines in a novel?
A story is about a character or characters who desperately wants something and pursues a goal through a series of actions and outcomes that escalate to the climax of the story, and the eventual resolution of the story. In simple terms -- this chain of cause and effect events is the 'plot' of a story. …
5 Story Questions to consider
The process of developing a story from a basic idea is not easy. When I first started writing fiction, I thought it was just a matter of discovering the plot events in the story - an outline. But it's more complex than that. Before starting a writing project you need to understand the story dynamics …
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.
Story design and readers’ expectations
What makes a story a compelling read that the reader cannot put down? Is it the story idea at the heart of the story? Or is it the way the story is executed? Great writers, of course, do both. But creating the readers expectations about the book and delivering what they want must be of …
The Writer’s Toolbox (ii)
In last month's blog, I looked at Scrivener, the primary tool I use for writing and publishing. This month I want to look at another tool, which is relatively new-- Plottr. Plottr, is essentially a time line planning tool. It allows you to quickly map out a story's timeline with scene cards. It also allows …
Eliminating the saggy middle
Choosing a topic for this month's blog was a difficult choice. During the month I finally managed to see the Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker and commenting on the unbelievable bizarre ending could easily fill at least one blog post on story design. But I don't like to give negative reviews and there are …
Finding a story from chaos
One of the tasks I have been putting off for some time is a limited re-edit of my debut novel, Collision. After its release in 2012, I noticed some irritating typos had crept into the final proof. Well, as you can see it's taken me quite some time to get around to doing it. But …
Daydeam Believer
Not many people are old enough to remember Daydream Believer. It was a single released by the Monkees in 1968 with lead singer Davy Jones and headed the US charts for four weeks. It's a catchy tune, with cryptic lyrics about a daydream believer and his homecoming queen. But I can still remember the chorus. …
JMJ Williamson 