#21: Progressive Complications: How to Write Better Conflict in Your Novel
In today's episode, we're going to talk about writing better conflict in your novel using "progressive complications." Here's a preview of what's included: [01:20] Progressive complications are moments of conflict that get more and more challenging to deal with over time. These complications can be people, places, things, or events, and they can be negative or positive. [02:10] Stories exist because of conflict. If there was no conflict, you'd have nothing to write about. [02:30] Progr...
25 Aug 202015min
#20: 5 Strategies for Getting Unstuck While Writing
In today's episode, I'm sharing my five favorite strategies for getting unstuck while writing. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:30] If you need help pushing past the first few pages of your novel, I have a brand new workshop just for you! It's called How to Hook Readers in Your First Five Pages. Click here to learn more about the workshop or to enroll for $47. [02:00] Strategy #1: Zoom out and look at the big picture of your story before making any micro-level changes. Answer these ...
12 Aug 202015min
#19: Thriller Genre Conventions
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the thriller genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie The Silence of the Lambs. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:25] Thrillers combine all the criminality and suspense of a good mystery novel with the life and death stakes of an action or horror story. [01:50] Readers choose thriller novels because they want to experience the thrill of trying to outsmart and stop the villain befor...
4 Aug 202017min
#18: 5 Mistakes Writers Make in Their Opening Pages
In today's episode, I'm going to talk about the five most common mistakes I see writers make in their opening pages. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:00] Details about my brand new workshop called “How to Hook Readers in Your First 5 Pages.” In this workshop, I'll walk you through the five key elements that you need to include in your first five pages AND I’ll show you how these five key elements manifest in the first five pages of The Hunger Games. If you want to sign up, or if you ...
21 Juli 202012min
#17: The 6 Scenes Every Horror Novel Needs
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every horror novel needs to have in order to work and to satisfy fans of the genre. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:10] In horror novels, bad things happen to good people. There are life and death stakes, a monster intent on death and destruction, claustrophobic settings, and a major fight for survival. [02:25] Readers choose horror novels because they want to feel the thrill and the terror of being in a life and deat...
14 Juli 202016min
#16: Conventions vs. Tropes: What's the Difference?
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the difference between genre conventions and tropes. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:28] Genre conventions are story elements such as character archetypes, key events, and settings that are commonly found in a specific genre. These conventions define each specific genre and readers' expectations of a story in that genre. [03:10] Tropes are a specific way of delivering those genre conventions or obligatory scenes in your novel. They a...
7 Juli 202018min
#15: How to Figure Out the Shape of Your Story
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through how to figure out the big-picture shape of your story. Here's a preview of what's included: . [02:45] Each genre asks a specific story question. For example, in an action story, the central story question is some version of, "Will the protagonist defeat the antagonist and survive the encounter?" (This article has the start and end points by genre) [03:45] The central story question helps you create a framework for your story. That's because th...
23 Juni 202016min
#14: How to Handle Character Backstory in Your Novel
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through my top three tips for weaving your character's backstory into your novel in a way that engages the reader without bogging them down. Here's a preview of what's included: [01:20] What is character backstory? Character backstory is everything that has ever happened in your character's life that has helped to influence and shape who they are today, in the "story present." [02:20] The biggest mistake writers make when it comes to handling a chara...
16 Juni 202015min
