by Jill Williamson | Jan 31, 2024 | Creativity, Elements of Fiction, Fantasy, Guest Posts, Learning from Other Authors, Plot, Speculative Fiction, Story Ideas, Story Structure, Writing
Ellen McGinty is an author and editor of Young Adult fantasy and historical fiction. She lives in the Tokyo metropolis with her husband, three boys, and a hypoallergenic cat. When not writing or editing, you can find her exploring the wilds of Japan with an abundance...
by Jill Williamson | Oct 11, 2023 | Brainstorming, First Drafts, Learning from Other Authors, NaNoWriMo, Plot, Story Structure, Writing
For the past few months, I’ve been taking you through my process of developing my upcoming Blood of Kings Legends short novel using The Story Equation by Susan May Warren. This story is about Guy and Girl. (I cannot yet share their names because my contracts says I...
by Jill Williamson | Feb 22, 2023 | Scenes and Scene Structure, Story Structure, Writing
In my early days of writing, I spent some time studying scene structure. I was trying to understand pacing, and it just wasn’t clicking for me. I eventually gave up trying to “put myself in a box,” and ever since, I’ve written my scenes...
by Shannon Dittemore | Feb 8, 2023 | Plot, Story Structure, The Craft of Writing, Writing
Just two elements left! Plot and Theme! If you’re playing catch up, here are the previous articles in this series introducing the Five Elements of Fiction: The Five Elements of Fiction The Five Elements of Fiction: Style The Five Elements of Fiction: Character...
by Shannon Dittemore | Sep 14, 2022 | Elements of Fiction, Story Structure, The Craft of Writing, Writing, Writing Exercise
Happy Wednesday, writers! I’m a little bogged down out here in California. There’s a fire raging about a half hour from where we live, and we’ve got a house full of evacuees. They’re lovely, and I’m so glad we have space to share, but it...
by Stephanie Morrill | Aug 31, 2022 | Story Structure
(If this post sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve adapted it from one written in 2013. My daughter is now a freshman in high school and no longer watches Tangled obsessively. Thank you in advance for offering your condolences.) I love the...