It’s a term I made up to describe a twist in fiction that can make the “black moment” more shocking to a reader. The black moment is a part of the basic structure of fiction that has been knocking around for centuries. The inciting incident. The mounting tension. Complications. Climax. The black moment. Denouement. There…
Tag: plotting
Write Your Novel Like A Noob…Or Not
As I write this, here in my 38th year, I’m struck by a number of what some people might consider failures, and yet others might see as learning experiences. To not put too fine a point on it, this is the writer’s experience in an online nutshell. As for me, I’ve taken several cracks at…
Oh, the weather outside is ….. perfect for my story!
“If you don’t like it, wait five minutes.” That’s the mantra Coloradoans mumble when the temperature plummets from 70 to 30 in one day. Important plans get interrupted, and you may sprain your back shoveling two feet of wet spring snow off your deck and have to cancel your tennis match. The unpredictability of weather…
“The Idiot Plot”
I recently read a review of the new TV series based on Terry Brooks’ classic epic fantasy Elfstones of Shannara when I read the following precis that made me laugh: “The elves’ magical protective tree, the Ellcrys, is dying. Lethal demons are slipping back into the world. To banish them again, someone must take the…
Plotting
No, not what you’re thinking… this isn’t a lesson on how to plot. This is a musing on how plotting happens. Which means? I was shoveling a foot of snow out of my driveway last Tuesday afternoon and I found myself plotting. I’ve been in a restaurant trying to keep my mind on the conversation…