Jar Jar Binks …. pod racing … there are a lot of reasons to not watch this movie, but is there anything it can teach us about storytelling? 1. Every character needs a role People hate Jar Jar Binks. That’s […]
Writing and storytelling are two sides of the same coin, and one usually needs to be skilled in both to create a great story. If your prose is not engaging, your story may not be enough to maintain your reader’s […]
I’m by no means trying to suggest that Return of the Jedi is the episode of the Original Trilogy that is closest to perfection, but the biggest flaw with this movie is that the plot stalls in the middle, but what […]
Women have not always been portrayed well in fiction, with female characters often being relegated to little more than objects or plot devices. Real-life women grew tired of their fictional counterparts always being in in need of rescue or stuffed into […]
Don’t know what #FirstChapterFriday is? After a year of analysing first chapters and finding the same strengths and weaknesses over and over, I’ve decided to bring #FirstChapterFriday to an end. I’ve learnt a lot myself about the importance of first chapters; […]
Video transcript Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, there should come a time when you revise your novel, and one of the first steps of revising your novel should involve giving it structure. I know writers seethe when they […]
Don’t know what #FirstChapterFriday is? Good Morning, Midnight, Lily Brooks-Dalton The good I liked the concept. The bad Everything else. Apart from odd transitions in places, the writing was fine. But almost the entire chapter consisted of info dumping about the […]
We’ve learnt some storytelling lessons from A New Hope. What can we learn from The Empire Strikes Back? 1. Meaningless events: boring, confusing, pace killers The Empire Strikes Back starts with Luke being attacked by a wampa. Starting with conflict is great, especially […]
I have a plug-in on my website that constantly tells me to rewrite my content because I use passive voice too much. If I were to import my content into an online text analyser, I’d get the same result. “Don’t […]
Every story has different requirements. Some don’t need much character development. Others don’t need tight plots. But for your story to be the most engaging and compelling it can be, it should comprise these basic narrative elements. 1. Character Reader-Character […]