STORY ESSENTIALS #3: Empathy
As soon as you introduce the hero of your story, you must begin creating empathy with that character. Empathy is an absolutely critical component of drawing readers and audiences.
STORY ESSENTIALS #2: A Setup
Every successful story begins with a setup – a sequence that introduces us to the hero, living his or her everyday life before beginning the journey that will define the story.
STORY ESSENTIALS #1: A Hero
Your successful story must have a hero – a protagonist that your readers and audiences will be captivated by, identify with, and root for as he or she strives to achieve some compelling desire.
Q & A: Can a Hero Also Be His Own Nemesis?
After reading your “Conflict #4: The Nemesis” article and considering the “coming of age/personal development” story I’m writing, you have me wondering what you would think about…
Q & A: What If My Hero’s Desire Isn’t Original?
Is there a way to find an original motivation that is also strong enough for an adventure story? I want to avoid clichés: avenging a dead parent; seeking a treasure; winning the love of a prince.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT NEMESIS #4: Relentless
Building and accelerating the conflict your hero must face greatly increases the emotional impact of your story. So when you have a nemesis character trying to stop your hero from achieving…
Q & A: Inner Life of Characters
Do you have any advice for people who are good at ideas, plots and dialogue bits but not so good at getting into the heads of their characters?
QUALITIES OF A GREAT NEMESIS #3: Principled
Back in the Bronze Age, when I was a kid watching even more TV than I do now, one of my favorite series was The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT NEMESIS #2: Threatening
Your story’s nemesis will be the character that, more than any other, stands between your hero and his or her visible goal.
Q&A: Daily Revisions or Forge Ahead?
I am finding that when I sit down each day to continue my writing, I read everything I’ve written so far in order to get back into the flow. When I do this I have the tendency to…