I want you to create a scene (or a number of scenes) where your characters are all talking. It could be an argument, a formal debate, a Sunday lunch. Whatever you want. The point is to get them into a room and talking, about anything. The point is to see how they think and how they respond to what others think.
Tag: Pro-Am Writers
Session 23: The Blurb
In all seriousness, the blurb is probably one of the most important things about your book. It’s an introduction to the story, to the characters, to the world. It’s the one thing that can and will help you get readers to open your book. You should make it with care. Not as an afterthought, not because you need it, but with the notion that is just as important as what is in the book.
The What, How, Why, and When of Turning the Page
Getting a reader to turn a page is probably one of the hardest things a writer has to do. It might not seem like it, but it is. We put a lot of thought into how we construct chapters and scenes. We put even more effort into how the story unfolds. We do these things constantly as we write, and we make small decisions about small details in the hopes that it speaks to the reader, that it makes them want to go to the next page.
Must There Always Be A Twist?
My first instinct is to say yes. Of course, there must always be a twist. Twists are incredible. They reveal important information, they invoke emotional reactions in an audience, and they can elevate a good story to a great one. They may even save a terrible story.
Session 22: Revision
Yes, you can finish your first draft fast and you can write beautiful prose, but if there are plot-holes, if the characters make no sense, if there are massive mistakes, then no one is going to care how beautiful your writing is.
Revision is your most important tool.
We Should Stop Taking Note Of The Wrong Things
As writers, we should be as conscious of the big things as we are of the little things, because while the little things make people fall in love, it’s the big things that make people come back. It’s the comfort in a story that we’ll find as readers.
Session 18: Writing Prompt – The Pinch
The pinch is basically the first moment where things get bad. It’s the first moment when real pressure is applied to your characters. It’s the first twist, or the first defeat, or the first sight of the big bad while he’s murdering a village. The pinch is the moment when the characters realise that they are not in the most ideal situation.
Inspiration is a Lie, and It Will Kill Your Writing
I created a writing schedule for myself, and sticking to it is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. For one thing, it has broken my heart, because it revealed a deep truth about writing, one that I did not want to admit to myself.
Actually, if I’m being honest, it was two truths.
Session 17: You Should See The Other Guy
This way of thinking gave me the chance to spend more time with my villains, to create them to be more sympathetic, and if not more sympathetic, at least more understandable. It also gave me time to give them obstacles to climb over, and faults, and weaknesses, and set-backs, and real emotional reactions to those set-backs that wouldn’t have been there. It gave me time to get to know these characters I created, and to make them well-rounded, to nail down their voice.
Session 16: Writing Prompt – The Quiet Scene
In every story, there will be “action”. In an action story, it will be an actual fight. In an adventure story, it will be an exciting set-piece. In romance, it will be the first date, or the first fight, or the breakdown of the relationship. In horror, it will be the monster attack, or the suspense scene, or even the jump scare. Every story has its “action” scene, the scenes that propel the reader forward and make them wonder how this all ends. These scenes are exciting, and sometimes offer twists in the story. But if a story is all action, there’s no time for a reader to digest what is happening, there’s no time for them to understand what the implications of what you just wrote really are.
And so, we have the “quiet” scenes.
Professional Amateur Writers 