Screenwriting Tricks for Authors
how to write a novel

Your Act II Climax: The Dark Night and the Dawn

These two key story structure elements are very, very often the CLIMAX of Act II: Part 2. They almost always occur next to each other, one coming right after—or soon after—the other. There might be a climactic action sequence before or after, but these elements will...

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Fall in Love with Story Structure!

So in this New Year, of all my Top Tricks to Get Yourself Writing Again, my Trick #1 is:                                                Fall in Love with Story Structure I’m not ever going to try to talk anyone out of being a pantser! Your process is your process.To...

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First Chapters

First Chapters are a very fraught subject. Writers agonize over them. I don’t have to tell you! The pressure is enormous, isn’t it? The first chapter sells your submission and it sells your book once it’s published. It carries the whole weight of the book with it. It...

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What KIND of Story is It?

Like I suspect a lot of people here, Craig and I ended up mourning the loss of the incomparable Sidney Poitier by watching In the Heat of the Night. I often reference Heat as an example in workshops, but watching it again reminded me of what a great teaching movie it...

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Holiday Homework: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

I know, it’s SO HARD to get any writing done this time of year. I’m not putting any pressure on you, I swear!  But there is something that a whole lot of us do this time of year that we can actually turn into an almost miraculous, (as it were) two-and-a-half hour...

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Nanowrimo finish line — Act III Elements

Last week of November—we're into Act III, now! Or maybe, even probably, you're not that far yet, which is perfectly fine. As long as you're writing, it's all good. The book will be done when it's done.But if you are into Act III, here are the prompts for that last...

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Nanowrimo — Act II: Part 2 Elements

Nanowrimo Week 3: The Downward Spiral. If you are blazing through #Nanowrimo like a speeding train and are actually working on the third quarter of the story, you have reached what is very often the darkest quarter of your story. And often the muddiest! So let’s try...

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Nanowrimo: MIDPOINT, part 2

Yesterday we talked about general characteristics of a MIDPOINT. Now let's look at some examples.A favorite MIDPOINT of mine (in a masochistic kind of way) is in Brian DePalma’s The Untouchables. It's also a great example of how a main character's PLAN and MAIN STORY...

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Nanowrimo: The MIDPOINT

 It’s halfway through the month— but for the vast majority of Nanowrimo writers I would be shocked if you were actually halfway through your book (as opposed to halfway through 50K words!) But it's still a good reason to talk about one of the most important elements...

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