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The Plot-Device Machine – Motive

A story is its people. We

A story is its people. We all know that, and that’s why Motive is different from the other Plot Device points. We’ve seen how

The Plot-Device Machine – Strength

Welcome to the whole stor

Welcome to the whole story… or at least a chance to step back from looking at single aspects of writing, like the last two Plot-Device posts did. No

The Plot-Device Machine – Knowledge

“You can run but you ca

“You can run but you can’t hide.” It’s simple truth, that getting distance from a problem may be no match for how “Knowledge is power.” An

The Plot-Device Machine – Movement

I’m about to share with

I’m about to share with you my all-purpose tool for the all-purpose question that my characters (and I'd bet yours) are constantly asking. That ques

Worth Fighting For – choosing stakes for characters

When I’m first putt

When I'm first putting my sense of a story together, there's one question that can turn the different pieces into a whole, sometimes faster than any o

How All Writing is Suspense

Why is my writing all abo

Why is my writing all about suspense? I think a better question is, is there any story that isn’t really about building uncertaint

Zero to Heroes

On February 16, I’l

On February 16, I'll be at Orccon in Los Angeles giving another of my talks on writing. Here's what I'll be leading people through:

Quiet Scene or Boring Scene? What can make the difference

We call them “chara

We call them "character moments" or "pacing breaks" when we write them, or "boring scenes" when somebody else tries and fails. We know the story isn't

Dialog, Plot, and a bit of Spock — Layers brought to life

Dialogue might be the mos

Dialogue might be the most powerful tool a writer has. It's absolutely the easiest one to lead in any direction you want, and yet… Just by keeping t

Writing Travel Scenes: What to Keep Moving

Do you ever notice how of

Do you ever notice how often "the hero's journey" isn't just a metaphor? Travel's a huge part of many stories, sometimes long days or weeks on the roa

If your scenes look too similar… try the Tarzan Test

It’s one of the nas

It's one of the nastiest problems in writing, because it can pop up either because we're struggling or because we're getting in the groove: we keep us

Bracketology in Story Plotting

What do sports brackets h

What do sports brackets have to do with writing a story? Almost everything. A plot depends on conflict and contrast between its characters, and