Today we have the great privilege of having Lewis Jorstad with us to share about how to use the Hero’s Journey to outline our stories. Lewis is an editor and book coach who also leads the thriving writing community over at The Novel Smithy. Without further ado- take it away, Lewis! Outlining an Epic Adventure […]
Story structure is the framework that keeps our novels strong and makes them as powerful as they can be. Today we’re looking at the very last element in our stories- the resolution. The resolution of our story is incredibly important. As Mickey Spillane put it, “Your first line sells the book. Your last line sells […]
Story structure doesn’t have to be boring or legalistic. In fact, it’s vital for maximum reader engagement and emotional involvement. Story structure makes stories stronger. Story elements we’ve covered in this series so far include the novel’s hook, inciting incident, key event, midpoint, and crossroads. All of these elements help with building tension, raising stakes, […]
Strong story structure is what holds our stories together. It doesn’t need to lead to formulaic or weak stories, instead gives our stories the strength and emotional resonance with our readers to be even more powerful. So far in this series we’ve looked at the hook, inciting incident, key event, and midpoint of our novel. […]
Story structure is vital if we’re going to write strong novels that grab our readers’ attention and never lets it go. The midpoint of our stories often tests this structure. (Check out the earlier posts in the Story Structure series for a review of the hook, inciting incident, and key event.) The Midpoint Often called […]
Story structure is what keeps our stories on track to create powerful stories that readers don’t want to put down. It’s the backbone that makes our books strong and cohesive. We’ve already taken an quick look at the core elements of story structure and we’ve covered the hook and the inciting incident. Today we’re looking […]
Understanding story structure helps us create stories that keep readers reading. Story structure provides a critical framework to make our stories powerful and engaging. We’ve looked briefly at an overview of the core elements of story structure. Today we’re going to dig deeper into the inciting incident. The Inciting Incident The inciting incident is where […]
Story structure is the framework that makes a story “work.” When utilized, it can provide a firm foundation to make stories more powerful and allow readers to resonate with them. We’ve looked earlier at an outline of the core elements that make up strong stories. Today we’re digging a bit deeper into a story’s “hook” […]
Each book on our bookshelf may seem different, but the best of them often share core elements of strong story structure. Why Care About Story Structure? Story structure is the backbone to keep our stories on track and enable our stories to better resonate with our readers by fulfilling their subconscious expectations. Having strong story […]
Writing a book series can be an exciting challenge but it can also be a bit daunting. Fortunately, many writers have gone before us and have wisdom to share. As you’ve probably realized, there are good, bad, and mediocre ways to approach writing a series. When done well it can be an extremely rewarding accomplishment […]