Memoir
Finding Home
“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The dilemma is
May 12, 2024
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Story Structure
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In simple terms, storytelling consists of three things: the beginning, middle, and end. However, this basic structure can often hide...
Writing is an act of magic. Out of thin air you’ve conjured something and put it onto the page. People...
Magical realism invites the impossible into the ordinary. This genre asks us to accept the fantastical without question. The supernatural...
How many words long should your novel be? The short answer is . . . as long as it needs...
There’s no rhythm without some repeated notes. Certain literary and rhetorical devices are so ingrained in how we speak and...
The “dark night of the soul” is that moment in a story where all seems lost. It is the biggest...
With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....
Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...
What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist...
Story is always a journey of self-discovery “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Embarking on a creative...
Theme is a way of making a series of events which are personal to the protagonist universally relatable to a...
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Story is an Argument
(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story is the
April 23, 2024
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What Does it Mean?
Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point where we
February 2, 2024
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Exploring Your Protagonist’s Dilemma
(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and
December 11, 2023
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Blog
Plot versus Theme
Any writer can experience that moment where you suddenly realize that your “idea” of the story isn’t going to get you to
October 20, 2023
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Blog
The Nature of the “Want”
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want” in your
November 5, 2021
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How Do You Identify the Dilemma in Your Story?
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify the dilemma
October 15, 2021
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The End of the Story Informs the Beginning
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For first-time writers,
June 18, 2021
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Blog
Writing Act Three: Our Hero Accepts the Reality of Their Situation
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it does not
May 21, 2021
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Blog
Story Structure as an Experiential Model
There is a structure to the universe. From the smallest atom to the forces that move the planets, there is a universal
August 7, 2020
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Story Structure
Story structure is often taught by story analysts as plot, but it is really the DNA of our protagonist’s internal journey to
May 6, 2020
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Blog
The Lens Through Which You See Your Story
“I find that when I am working I become like an antenna, and suddenly everything relates to my screenplay: a mentioned recipe,
March 17, 2020
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Blog
No Dilemma, No Story
One thing that has been coming up a lot in my classes is the tendency for writers to “figure out” their plot.
June 4, 2019
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Dilemma: The Source of Your Story
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist has a
January 16, 2019
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Blog
Choice
Why do we write? Why do we spend months, years, even decades engaged in the solitary act of creating a world on
October 30, 2018
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Blog
Reframing Your Protagonist’s Goal
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense
December 12, 2017
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Blog
The Theme of the Story
Shakespearean plays begin with the chorus telling us what we are about to see. They don’t tell us the whole plot
September 18, 2017
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Recent posts
“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The...
(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story...
Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point...
(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for...
Any writer can experience that moment where you suddenly realize that your “idea” of the story isn’t going to get...
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want”...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify...
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For...
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it...
There is a structure to the universe. From the smallest atom to the forces that move the planets, there is...
Story structure is often taught by story analysts as plot, but it is really the DNA of our protagonist’s internal...
“I find that when I am working I become like an antenna, and suddenly everything relates to my screenplay: a...
One thing that has been coming up a lot in my classes is the tendency for writers to “figure out”...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist...
Why do we write? Why do we spend months, years, even decades engaged in the solitary act of creating a...
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes...
Shakespearean plays begin with the chorus telling us what we are about to see. They don’t tell us the...
