Planning VS Pantsing
Storytime. A long time ago in a galaxy, well, actually this galaxy, but that’s a lot less snappy than the original… Wait. I probably should have thought that out before I wrote it down. Ahh, never mind. I’ll edit it later. So anyway, once upon a time there were two writers – let’s call them Sarah […]
The Perils of Over-Planning
Planning your writing is a great idea. Understanding your characters and their motivations, knowing their arcs back to front and having an idea of how and when you’re going to ramp up the tension will help you write a strong, exciting story. But there comes a point when you have to unclench your fingers from […]
The Three-Act Structure for Novel Writing
Here’s a secret: every story in the world can be broken down to the same fundamentals…
Give it space: How to grow stories in your head
We’ve all been there. You have a great idea, so you snap the laptop open and start hammering out words, but after a couple of paragraphs you’ve stalled. Where is the rest of the frigging story?! You worry the idea round a bit and try to think really hard about where it’s going, but your […]
Five plotting techniques to help you outline a novel
Get from ‘ooh, a story idea’ to ‘I’m gonna write an actual novel in 5 easy steps…