I remember reading Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever as a teen and feeling frustrated. At the time, I didn’t have the experience to define the source of that frustration, but later in life I was able to put my finger on it. I was reading good-sized books about epic fantasy adventures,…
Tag: plotting
A Basic Guide to Flash Fiction
A few years ago, I hit writer’s block. I was halfway through writing my first novel and I was stuck. I needed a side project, something to give my brain a break from my work-in-progress but keep me on track with my writing habits. This was when I discovered flash fiction. Flash fiction is an…
Writing Romance: The Happily Ever After
Hello Campers, Are you ready for a Happily Ever After? I mean, isn’t that why we read (and write) romance? It’s in the rules. So, on our beat sheet, we’re down to the Resolution and Final Image. It says “Show how the characters are now fully in their essence and perfect for each other.” In…
Writing Romance: The Climax
Hello, Campers, and welcome to Act III. Last month we covered the Crisis in our romance. Headed into Act III, most likely your hero and heroine have gone their separate ways. Broken up. Finit! Sigh. But we all know where this is going. That’s why we’re still reading. The Dark Moment has done its duty,…
Solving the Conflict Puzzle
I recently started a new novel. I’ve only been working on it for a few weeks, but it’s already given me an epiphany. I looked at my last book as a collection of elements, all independent from one another. I spent the first round of revision working out plot kinks, the next developing character, the…