I was an English major in college, and I taught English/Language Arts for a lot of years. One thing I realized early on is that, although I had to take a linguistics class, I have absolutely no need to understand how to diagram a sentence. Likewise, I have no need to understand interrogative adjectives, or […]
Types of Fictional Characters Teaching middle and high school language arts taught me a lot about the types of characters in fiction. I learned as much teaching as I did when I was in high school myself–and as an English major in college. Understanding the different types of characters and the roles they play in […]
Characters are at the Heart of the Story Characters are at the heart of every story. Without a strong hero, a book is often forgettable. This is why series are so popular. People come back not for whatever mystery or crime Stephanie Plum will be tackling, but because they love Stephanie herself. And Lula. And […]
We’re wrapping up our Writing Prompt series on SETTING by looking at the connection between character and setting. Setting gives the reader a world to visualize. It’s grounding. It creates mood and tone. In Gone With the Wind, for example, Atlanta is almost a character. So it Tara. These locations provide much more than just […]
Writer’s block is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot in the writing world. At writing conferences; at workshops; at organization meetings. I’ve been asked time and time again, “Do you get writer’s block?” or “What do you do when writer’s block happens?” I used to say something to the effect of, “Oh, I […]
Using Dialogue to Convey Setting Setting in a story can be given through description (see Writing Promp #3). Last time we talked about creating setting through description. Today, we’re still looking at setting as a way to convey a story’s time and place, but this time, we’re using dialogue. Why? Because setting doesn’t have to […]
Setting is a story’s time and place. You cannot have a story without setting. Setting grounds the entire narrative. In books, setting can be very overtly or explicit given to the reader, or it can be alluded to through descriptions of clothing, architecture, weather, topography, and other environmental elements. When we think of TIME, a […]
Scroll Down to Watch the YouTube on this topic or to listen to the Podcast! Have you ever thought about the opening scenes of movies? If you pay attention, you will start to notice how they often begin with a sort of wide angle view of the world in which the story takes place. In […]
Where it Started The Hero’s Journey is THE Template for Screenplays, and it works for novels, too. Why? Because the hero is relatable and undergoes growth. In short, they earn their heroic status via their success at the end of the story. As a teacher, there are some topics I find so fun to teach. […]
When you think of a scene, consider starting with a wide angle lens first. Capture the bigger setting. Once you’ve done that, you can move in closer and closer and closer until you introduce the character and the conflict. Think about it like this: A movie starts. First, the director shows stars twinkling in the […]