Tag: K.M. Weiland

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 5: Options for Disasters in a Scene

December 30, 2019

   by K.M. WEILAND |  Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 5: Options for Disasters in a Scene The disaster is the payoff at the end of the scene.* This is what readers have been waiting for—often, with a delicious sense of dread. This is the answer, at least partially, to that all-important question, “What’s gonna happen?” The … More Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 5: Options for Disasters in a Scene

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 4: Options for Conflict in a Scene

December 23, 2019

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 4: Options for Conflict in a SceneSHARE Once you’ve established your character’s scene* goal, the fun begins in earnest! Conflict is what story is all about. Without it, the character would achieve his goal in minutes, all the loose ends would instantly be tied off with a pretty red bow, and the story … More Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 4: Options for Conflict in a Scene

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 3: Options for Goals in a Scene

December 9, 2019

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 3: Options for Goals in a Scene The story as a whole and every scene* within it begins with a goal. Your character wants something—something he will have difficulty accomplishing. What he wants frames the plot on both the macro and micro levels. What he wants defines him as a person, … More Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 3: Options for Goals in a Scene

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 2: The Three Building Blocks of the Scene

December 2, 2019

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 2: The Three Building Blocks of the SceneilLike story itself, each Scene* follows a specific structure. At its heart, the arc of the Scene is the same as that of the larger story structure exhibited over the course of the book: 1. Beginning=Hook 2. Middle=Development 3. End=Climax When we look at the … More Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 2: The Three Building Blocks of the Scene

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 1: Mastering the Two Different Types of Scene

November 25, 2019

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 1: Mastering the Two Different Types of Scene Okay, so it’s not really a trick. It’s a legitimate question with a legitimate, if somewhat surprising, answer. And that answer is: the scene. Yep, you heard right. The scene—that most integral, most obvious, most universal part of any story—is also the most overlooked and … More Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 1: Mastering the Two Different Types of Scene

How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”

November 18, 2019

How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”   Have you ever read a book for a second, third, even tenth time—just to experience the emotion the story evokes? Clearly the elements of the story aren’t a surprise. You know exactly what to expect. If so, you were benefiting from an author who knew how to … More How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”

How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”

November 11, 2019

How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”   Have you ever read a book for a second, third, even tenth time—just to experience the emotion the story evokes? Clearly the elements of the story aren’t a surprise. You know exactly what to expect. If so, you were benefiting from an author who knew how to … More How to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”

5 Questions for Choosing a Protagonist Who Represents Your Story’s Theme

November 4, 2019

5 Questions for Choosing a Protagonist Who Represents Your Story’s Theme   Choosing a protagonist is often more of an event than a process. Writers sometimes feel more like the protagonist chooses them than the other way around. While most of us heed our first instinct to simply chase after this character to see where … More 5 Questions for Choosing a Protagonist Who Represents Your Story’s Theme

How to Tell if Your Story Has Too Much Plot, Not Enough Character

October 28, 2019

How to Tell if Your Story Has Too Much Plot, Not Enough Character Can a story have too much plot? It might surprise you (especially if you’re a regular reader of the site), but the answer is absolutely, yes. Implicit in the question of too much plot is the idea that a story should have moreof … More How to Tell if Your Story Has Too Much Plot, Not Enough Character

How to Use a “Truth Chart” to Figure Out Your Character’s Arc

October 21, 2019

How to Use a “Truth Chart” to Figure Out Your Character’s Arc  by K.M. WEILAND Figure Out Your Character’s Arc “How do I figure out my character’s arc?” This is a question I receive commonly—and with good reason. Not only is your character’s arc central to all your other story choices—plot and theme foremost among … More How to Use a “Truth Chart” to Figure Out Your Character’s Arc