Kurt Vonnegut has 8 rules for writing fiction. Some of these are counter-intuitive, but are great bits of advice.
Archive for the ‘Writing Tips’ Category
I’ve taken notice of something that Angela Ackerman does on her blog, The Bookshelf Muse. She’s come up with a set of thesauri for emotions, colours, textures, shapes, symbolism, and settings, and she adds to them periodically. Recently she posted Setting Thesaurus Entry: Courtroom, and As I thought about her process, it seemed to make good sense.
When I’m writing, I can tend to be too focused on the action and advancing the plot (which isn’t a bad thing!) but too much can leave the finished scene feeling a little sterile, needing deeper investment in descriptives. This is where a thesaurus like Angela’s could be helpful.
Within the Three Acts there are six PLOT POINTS, or key events, that change or complicate the action.
CATALYST: Your story starts out in balance and the catalyst upsets the balance. This turmoil is what gives your story direction.
BIG EVENT: The event that changes the main characters life in a major way.
PINCH: Plot twist and point of no return for your main character, where motivation is strengthened and what they have to do is made perfectly clear.
CRISIS: Event forces the crucial decision for the lead character; typically where it seems all is lost.
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