Your Game Plan to Break Through Writer’s Block for Good

by Lewis / September 18, 2018 / Inspiration

Some days it seems impossible to write another word…

We all know how it feels. The cursor blinks at you in disapproval on a blank page. The words are there, somewhere in the back of your mind, but you just can’t bring them to your fingertips. You’re frustrated, overwhelmed, and stuck. Unfortunately, you have what we in the writing world call writer’s block.

But don’t despair! There are seven things you can do to get back to being a productive, happy writer, while simultaneously setting yourself up for success down the road.

Shane (1953): The Movie Structure Archives

by Lewis / September 16, 2018 / Movie Structure Archives

Genre: Western
Writer: A.B. Guthrie Jr.
Director: George Stevens

Character Backstory: Three Steps for a More Balanced Approach

by Lewis / September 11, 2018 / Character Development

Backstory gets a bad rap in the writing world…

I’m sure you’ve heard all about how bad character backstory can be. It’s far too easy to overdo it, overwhelming an otherwise interesting novel with flashbacks and dream sequences. Yet, in the next breath you hear how important it is to know your character’s background, their wound, their inner struggle, and more. When you look closely, all of these have their root in your character’s backstory.

So, this presents a problem—how can you avoid the problems with backstory, while also using it to write interesting, well-developed characters? Well, the key here is balance. By knowing the role backstory should play in your novel, you can infuse your story with a healthy dose of history, without drowning in it!

Perfecting the Resolution: The Story Structure Series Part Nine

by Lewis / September 3, 2018 / Story Structure

…and so they lived happily ever after.

These famous words that wrap up so many fairytales are, in essence, a simple form of the Resolution. A highly abbreviated one, but one none the less—and the Resolution of your novel won’t be much different.

This is the final moment for your readers to say goodbye, to have one final moment with your now beloved cast, and to cement your story in their hearts forever. It’s often bittersweet, but also oh so important. So how can you build on everything you’ve written so far in order to give your story a satisfying ending, both for you and your audience?

Writing the Climax: The Story Structure Series Part Eight

by Lewis / September 1, 2018 / Story Structure

If storytelling is a game of chess, this is checkmate…

Or more specifically, the Climactic Moment is. Here, both sides of your story’s conflict will confront each other one final time. This is the last hurrah of your story, and it’s here that you’ll fulfill the promises you made to your readers from the beginning, giving them an intense and dramatic conclusion to the journey you’ve just taken them on.

Of course, the Climax is more complicated than it may seem at first glance. Not only does it wrap up the threads of your story, but it also contains an entirely distinct plot point within it, and one you don’t want to ignore—the Climactic Moment. So, what’s the difference between these two plot points, and how can they work together in your story?