That’s an interesting distinction. One of the laws of storytelling that’s been hammered into me over the years is that MC has to take an active role in solving the big plot problem.  But, as you point out, in a novel that problem can be an internal struggle and the active-solution can be one of changing an internal frame of mind rather than an…[Read more]

Hi, Graham, I’m new here too.  I don’t think of myself as a theater person, but looking back I have done some amateur scriptwriting with a local student group, and we had a great time at that. I think since I’m not regularly part of the theater world, it seems like not-my-genre. But honestly many of my novel drafts are fairly spare and…[Read more]

Replacements for look: I’m not referring to the context ‘he looked at the barn,’ I’m referring to the phrase ‘he gave her a flat look.’ Any replacement for that come to mind? I feel like a use it a lot. Stare is an obvious one, but in most contexts that doesn’t work.

Switch to active verbs: “he stared” “he glared” “he squinted” etc. Or for reacti…[Read more]

Kayla,

I’m brand new here, and since Gracie jumped in to revive this conversation, I thought I’d do so as well.

I’m a pantser who corrects and marks-up as I write. (I have just started recently trying some outline-first fiction writing, but so far I don’t have any completed fiction manuscripts with that approach. For non-fic I write a…[Read more]