by Pat Marcello | Dec 30, 2010 | Writing
We all know that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. We’ve talked about the beginning over the last few days… that should be where you start your conflict or problem. But what happens next? That’s your middle. Here’s where you turn...
by Pat Marcello | Dec 29, 2010 | Writing
Conflict is uber important in any short story or novel. We’ve already covered why and how, but what makes it so important? Simple. Conflict makes people feel. Your readers should want to see your main character be successful. Or, in the case of a villian, they...
by Pat Marcello | Dec 28, 2010 | Writing
So, we already know that conflict is trouble and that if you don’t have that element early in your story, your readers won’t be engaged. But how do you create trouble, and what comes first? Characters or creating the problem? Image via Wikipedia What I do...
by Pat Marcello | Dec 27, 2010 | Writing
Yep, it’s true. If you don’t have a conflict, you don’t have a story. You need a problem for your character(s) to solve, and if it doesn’t exist, what you have is a long narrative that nobody wants to read. Image via Wikipedia Think about every...
by Pat Marcello | Dec 26, 2010 | Writing
OMG… The toaster just caught on fire! What’s worse is that Jack is working on his computer in his bedroom. He let the toaster do its work while he did something else, and so, he doesn’t even know there’s a fire. The dog starts barking, but by...
by Pat Marcello | Dec 25, 2010 | Writing
Image via Wikipedia We’ve been talking about research, why you need to do it and where some good places are for doing it. But have we talked about real, live research? This comes in the form of interviewing experts and just plain good old observation. I’ve...
