by Susan Lovett | Mar 15, 2022 | Story |
Mary Sues are perfect in whatever they do. They possess skills at an unusually high level with little or no effort required to acquire those talents. They never have to try and never fail. They are the “chosen ones” or the best at what they need to excel in their world or story. They are beloved by all for no obvious reason. They are simply desired. They are attractive, but lack personality in most cases. But they do have power even if they don’t have to work to achieve their goal.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 8, 2022 | Story |
Identifying and avoiding story-related issues in your writing that weaken the experience and characters. While the following list is not exhaustive, it does reflect some of the most glaring issues facing stories today. Ignore them at your peril. Three are character based and the final issue affects every aspect of story. This is part one of a three-part series. More to come.
by Susan Lovett | Nov 9, 2021 | Story |
Themes enhance stories, making them more meaningful. It’s theme that makes a story linger in your memory. It’s theme that provides the touchstone for what happens. It’s what informs everything that follows the opening sequence. Themes matter to the story and your writing. But most of all, theme matters to your characters.
by Susan Lovett | Sep 14, 2021 | Story |
Scenes make up stories. They are the building blocks that form narrative. As writers, we stack scenes together to tell a particular tale. How we write, build, and stack those scenes matters.
by Susan Lovett | Aug 3, 2021 | Story |
In the last blog we defined throughlines, loglines and taglines. Now let’s look closer at throughlines—the most important of the three.
by Susan Lovett | Jul 27, 2021 | Story |
The throughline is a single thread that winds through your story and off which everything else hangs. It drives the writing and organizes the plot, action and character development. The throughline is the main motivation driving the protagonist toward the ending. It is what holds your story together so it can be a story instead of a random collection of anecdotes and scenes. A good throughline is how you propel your story forward in a way that makes sense.
by Susan Lovett | Jun 1, 2021 | Story |
In the last blog, we discussed what first lines of stories need to include. Now we’ll look at ways you can improve your opening lines.
by Susan Lovett | May 25, 2021 | Story |
First sentences are paramount to stories. They are the first impression. The hook by which readers are tempted to continue on instead of tossing the book back on the shelf so they can keep looking. They are a portal to the story itself.
by Susan Lovett | Apr 27, 2021 | Fiction, Story |
In part one of this series, we talked about how and why film editor Walter Murch’s famous Rule of Six works equally well for novelists. Now let’s break down each of the six rules:
by Susan Lovett | Apr 20, 2021 | Fiction, Story |
The Rule of Six is a list of the six most important types of cuts a film editor should make, according to famed film editor Walter Murch in his book, In the Blink of an Eye. Though written for film editors, his suggestions make sense for novelists too.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 9, 2021 | Story |
A story hinges on the inciting incident—the event that pushes a protagonist outside of her status quo and forces her to move in a new direction. The inciting incident presents a choice: to stay and deal with the new circumstances or to move beyond what’s comfortable to go after what the protagonist really wants, facing new challenges along the way. It really isn’t a choice since it wouldn’t be much of a story if the protagonist stayed where she was. Thus, the inciting incident starts the journey.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 2, 2021 | Story |
The point of any story is to engage the audience or reader. It’s why the hook is so important; it’s the part of the story that grabs the readers’ attention and makes them want to know what happens next. But the ultimate goal is to make your readers’ care about what they are reading or watching.
