On Writing Well: Revisiting the Basics
As you may remember, I teach for a MFA Program, working primarily with students who are finishing their creative writing
thesis projects. This week, Iām in the throes of grading final projects, reviewing
manuscripts up to 60 pages. For this weekās post, I thought Iād revisit some of
the basics that keep popping up in these projects.
Over the years, I have gathered quite
a collection of articles and handouts that target some basic writing concepts
that are often overlooked in workshops. Iāve highlighted some of these in
previous posts.
I use these resources for my students,
and thought you might be interested in a few of these:
Narrative Structure
Backstory and Exposition: 4 Key Tactics. Susan
DeFreitas, contributing writer at Jane Friedmanās blog, explores effective
strategies in inserting backstory into your narrative, explaining, āLanding
your novel opening can be tricky. On the one hand, you need to get the reader
sucked into the present moment of the story as itās unfolding; on the other
hand, thereās a lot you need to explain about the past, which is precisely the
sort of thing that puts readers to sleepā¦This info is generally known as
backstory (essential information about the charactersā past) and exposition
(essential information about the context of the story). Getting it right is one
of the biggest challenges youāll face with your novel.ā
Story Structure: 7 Narrative Structures All Writers Should
Know. As the writers on Reedsy blog offers,
āWhile using a pre-existing blueprint might make you worry about ending up with
a formulaic, predictable story, you can probably analyze most of your favorite
books using various narrative structures that writers have been using for
decades (if not centuries)!ā This blog post explores seven distinct
story structures that any writer can use to build a compelling narrative.
Narrate
vs. Dramatize. Alex Donneās excellent video
explains the difference between narrating and dramatizing (show vs. tell), and
how you can fix these issues during the revision. Revision is when the magic
happens!
Filter Words and Phrases to Avoid in Writing Fiction. Anne
R. Allen created an excellent handout that provides a list of writing
filters, with practical examples of how to replace them. As she states,
āAll words exist for a reason. Use them wisely to create engaging narrative.ā
Purple Prose and the Word Surgeonās Scalpel. Tom
Bentley at Writer UnBoxed elaborates on how these filter words rob your
narrative of its vigor. Bently offers excellent examples and explanations,
reminding writers to āKeep in mind that when you clean up
your writing, youāre not scrubbing it of the voice that makes it distinct and
delightful. Youāre clearing your throat so that voice sings out strong and true.ā
(Related to Narrative
Structure) Dialogue
How to Format Dialogue.
Dax MacGregor offers nice illustrations on how to format dialogue, stating
āWhether you are writing a short story, full novel or anything in between, the
way you format dialogue is the same.ā
The MasterClass in How to Format Dialogue in Your Short
Story and Novel. The MasterClass staff put
together this excellent handout, stating, āWhether youāre working on a novel or
short story, writing dialogue can be a challenge. If youāre concerned about how
to punctuate dialogue or how to format your quotation marks, fear not; the
rules of dialogue in fiction and nonfiction can be mastered by following a few
simple rules.
Active vs Passive
Characters
How Can We Make Our Characters More Proactive? Jami
Goldās excellent handout details how a character needs agency in their story,
stating āIn other words, passive and reactive charactersāthose without
agencyāgo with the flow, make no decisions, and donāt affect the story because
theyāre always one step behind. In contrast, proactive/active characters make
the story what it is.ā
On Passive Characters. Mary
Cole of Good Story Company explains, āIt's hard for readers to engage with a
passive character, especially in the protagonist role.ā
Five Ways to Tell If You Have A Passive Protagonist (And If
You Do, How To Fix Them). Jimena I. Novaroās
excellent discussion offers a study into passive characters, comparing two
beloved novels to illustrate her points, stating ā To illustrate these five
places where you can identify a passive protagonist, Iām going to use two books
that I love. Theyāre both good books, but one has the unfortunate flaw of
having a passive protagonist, while the other has an awesome, active
protagonist. The examples for a passive protagonist are from Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling; the examples for an active protagonist are
from Sabriel by Garth Nix.ā
Finding the Emotional Core. Related
to creating active characters is taking advantage of a characterās emotional
core. Jo Eberhardt on Writer UnBoxed explores strategies on how to create
authentic characters that readers care about, stating, āCreate
a character who feels deep emotions, and invite the reader to join them on
their journey. It creates a bond that can never be broken between your
character and your reader ā one that will still exist decades into the future.ā
Plot Structures
On Pacing: Faster than the Speed of Thought. Donald
Maass at Writers UnBoxed explains, āPlot pace is generally what people
mean. Keep things moving. Get to the next event. Donāt
meander around, cut to the chase. Get to the meat and quickly move
on. Itās as if story is a double-speed march, or ought to beā¦As we know,
however, story is not always about moving events along rapidly.ā
Good Transitions: A Guide to Cementing Stories
Together. Amanda Mascarelle illustrates the
process of creating strong transitions that move the story forward, stating,
āMost writers learned in elementary school that a good story requires a
compelling beginning, middle, and end. But how does one make the pieces fit
neatly together? From my tattered memory of grade school, my teachers skipped
that part. Or maybe I was home with the chicken pox the day we learned about
transitionsāthe words and phrases, often subtly deployed, that give stories
shape and tug readers from idea to idea.ā
Mastering Scene Transitions. Beth
Hill of The Editorās Blog discusses how to create effective scene transitions,
explaining, āA scene transition takes characters and readers to a new location,
a new time, or a new point of view. Transitions can also be used to show a
characterās change in heart or frame of mind.ā
(Related to Plot)
Chapter Building
How To Organize A Chapter.Nathan
Bransford explores strategies to create chapters that move the plot forward,
explaining āToo many writers treat their chapters like tanks of gas. They take
off without really knowing where theyāre going, drive around aimlessly until
they run out of fuel, sputter to a stop, and then they start the next chapter
after someone takes pity on them and tows them somewhere new.ā Of particular
interest, he offers a very nice discussion on creating cliffhangers that engage
readers, stating , āThe key to crafting a great cliffhanger is to construct the
climax of a chapter so that its resolution opens up even bigger questions.
Think about the fate of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter novels, Han Solo being
frozen in carbonite in Star Wars, or āWho shot J.R.ā on Dallas.ā
How to Structure Chapters of Your Novel: 8 Tips for Writing
Chapters. In this very interesting discussion,
MasterClass explains eight strategies that help writers create reader-friendly
chapters, explaining, āChapters are the vessels of story structure,
organizing the plot points of the larger work and allowing the reader to
take a break and absorb what theyāve learned. A short story can be read in one
sitting, but a novel is usually broken up into accessible parts, forming a book
that can be easily revisited whenever the moment arises. Structuring chapters
in a way that keeps readers immersed in the story is essential to
novel-writing.ā
And, related to structuring chapters comes this
essential read on tension-building. Jordan Rosenfeldās How to Write A Page
Turner: Craft a Story Your Readers Canāt Put Down (Writers Digest Books, 2019).
From the back-cover:
āTension is the heart of conflict, the
backbone of uncertainty, the hallmark of danger. It keeps readers guessing and characters
on their toes. When youāve got tension in place, stories leave readers
breathless and wanting more. When itās missing, scenes feel inconsequential,
plots drag and characters meander.ā
Happy writing!
-- Bobbi
Miller
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