Sequels

Sequels

It’s my daughter’s birthday today (Friday, as I write this)—she’s turned 27—and she’s given me an hour to get this blog written before I take her out. We’re going to engage in two of her favorite pastimes—sitting at a café with a cup of coffee and a pastry (something...
Beyond the three act structure

Beyond the three act structure

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that one of my passions is story structure. But, why? I hear you cry with incredulity in your voice. Well, for a number of reasons, actually. First, a well structured story is easier to follow for the reader....
A glance at my writer’s bookshelf

A glance at my writer’s bookshelf

We all need some help now and then. And we all need guidance on how to do this crazy thing we call “writing a novel”. I’ve found incredible inspiration and learned so many lessons from the books on my writer’s bookshelf. Here are some...
Your Character’s Wound

Your Character’s Wound

I was so surprised last week when I realized that I had never written about a character’s wounds! I learned about this concept from Michael Hauge who speaks about character wounds in his incredible talk on “The Hero’s Two Journeys”.  The...
Peopling Your Story

Peopling Your Story

(My apologies: I don’t have the audio version of this post this week. If you’d like one, please contact me and I’ll create one and post it. Thanks for your understanding.) How many people are in your books? To write a novel involves creating...