Story Journey – NEW! Dialogue Dynamics Course.

The Story Journey: Where Character and Plot Meet

What's the story journey? It's the basis of the story, the fundamental element that determines everything else. And each story, like our own life journeys, is a unique combination of elements.

In my articles, my books, my newsletters, my courses, and my coaching, I'll help you discover the uniqueness of your own story-- and develop it through your character journeys and plot events.



Download 8 Tips for Dazzling Dialogue Here

The Character- Plot Journey

Braiding the Character with the Plot

If you think of the plot as the protagonist's journey, you can overcome a lot of the Fear of Plotting. So let’s talk about the journey, and then connect it to the parts of the plot.   


The plot is like dominoes falling.


Sneaky Plot Problems: The Top 10 Countdown (FREE)

Plot Problem #10: Backstory Blunders


top-ten-list for plot problems

Five Bad Habits of Good Writers

1. Bad habit: Thinking that you have only one book in you. Many writers start out because they want to tell one particular plot, a story that’s been inside them for a long time. They write that story in a white heat, and then… then what? Are they done being a writer now that they’ve written that one book? No.  Other bad habits here!good-writers-bad-habits in plot and life


Three Quick Tricks to Powerful Pacing

I think of pacing as making sure that important events happen frequently enough that the reader doesn't get a chance to quit reading.  That doesn't mean every scene has a turning point, but every scene has to have some event that affects the overall plot, or that scene is basically "skippable".  And every scene can help set up for a later turning point.

There should be some measurable change that happens because of this event.  I have to say, as soon as I started applying this rule, my pacing picked up, because the plot had more events and more changes. Read more about pacing.

Here are a few quick tips for creating dazzling dialogue.    

#1 Keep it short

Three to four lines between "--", then insert an action, change speakers, switch to a quick thought.  This creates more white space, suggests more movement, forces you to be cogent and quick.

Read more dialogue tips here.

More Than a Hook: The Scene’s First Paragraphs (FREE)

There’s a trend recently that calls for opening each scene "in media res"— with some kind of clever line (the "hook"), or sudden action or a line of dialogue. This can be effective in drawing the readers in, but keeping them in requires more than clever lines. It requires a paragraph or two that anchor the scene in some specific place, time, and situation.

Read more here.

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