Throughout my writing tenure I’ve focused more on characters than places. Often that’s to the benefit of the stories I write but some stories call for an in-depth, sensical universe. Rarely a universe but at least a lived-in town. Invariably with my chosen focus what brainpower I expend on settings hit a cookie cutter problem. … Continue reading Setting-Narrative Symbiosis
Tag: Story Structure
Falling Action: Avoid the Slump
You can’t race up a hill forever, eventually you’ll run out of breath. For this reason story structure demands a dynamic switch between moments of greater emphasis known as rising action and those of lesser emphasis known as falling action. For shorter stories it’s possible to only have rising actions from the introduction to the … Continue reading Falling Action: Avoid the Slump
Writing Characters After a Character Arc
A good character arc is handled with the same deference as nitroglycerine. On paper it’s a simple combination of basic ingredients but in a writer’s unsteady hand they can destroy everything around them. Hopefully you have a plan or sufficient experience to execute a character arc combined with a great deal of effort to craft … Continue reading Writing Characters After a Character Arc
Colin Klawans 