Somewhat related to Tuesday’s post, but another type of story I’d love to try is what I’m calling interlocking lives. This is where the main character is living two lives, without a clear delineation of which is the “real” life,
Stories I’d Like to Write: Dual Timelines
It’s summer, so time for a blog series, amirite? I am right. Because it’s my blog. So there. For this year’s series, I thought I’d focus on stories I’d like to write someday. Because writing, like anything else, is a
The Rule of Three
Threes are important throughout human society, mythology, and literature. There’s something very ancient and instinctual about using threes, and you’ll find them everywhere. Storytelling is no different in this. One of the most common story structures is the three act
Onward to Space Dinosaurs
Well, Squiders, I have finally finished my chainsaw edit of my YA paranormal/dark fantasy novel. It ended up being approximately 90,000 words, which makes it 15,000 words longer than the original draft. Most of the new stuff is related to
More Structural Thoughts
Another issue I’m running into with my Nano is my structural beats, or acts, or whatever you want to call them. You see, when I plotted Nano this year I tried a new technique. In the past I have phase
Playing with Structure
I’ve always thought that Nano is a great time to try something new–new structure, new genre, new chronology, whatever–because I feel the format of Nano forces you to keep going where, at other times of year, you might turn back
Happy October! (Updates and Misc + Sale)
First of all, Squiders, if you haven’t taken advantage of the Turtleduck Press sale (also featuring my Shards and Hidden Worlds and several anthologies I have stories in, including our newest, Under Her Protection) you have a few hours before the prices go back
How Your Subconscious Affects Your Character Interactions
When I was editing Shards last year, I came to a realization about my own writing, and I’ve since talked to several other authors who have confirmed that this happens to them as well. As an author, you’re privy to
Betas’ Memory (and How Trappings Color Readers’ Experiences)
My family seems to be very slowly making their way through Shards. It seems like every week a different cousin or aunt or uncle is reading it, which is honestly a bit flattering, that everyone’s bothering. Last week my mother told me
Premise vs Plot vs Structure
Some time ago, Squiders, we discussed Premise and Plot. (That’s a fairly short post, but for those too lazy to click through, the basic gist is that a premise is the idea of the story, whereas the plot is the
