Lessons Step Forward, Fall Back 21 Jun 202130 Dec 2021 The Bad Solution) In the last chapter of Covalent our characters faced a powerful and immediate threat. A massive creature was intent upon killing each and every one of them,…
Lessons Better Moves 14 Jun 202130 Dec 2021 The Game of Chess) I'm not any good at chess, but I do like to play just for the fun of it. I would describe my style as simply being…
Lessons Force My Hand 7 Jun 202130 Dec 2021 No More Hesitations) Last week I considered the resistance that a main character must press through to achieve their greater story. Most protagonists are written so that they dearly want…
Lessons Breaking Through to Story 31 May 202130 Dec 2021 Discouraged Efforts) Last week I talked about "inciting moments," where the protagonist commits to some cause, even though there is strong opposition to it. I mentioned that in my own…
Lessons That’s So Inciting! 24 May 202130 Dec 2021 Coming to a Decision) I ended the last chapter of Covalent with the main character coming to an important decision. Previously Cace had been scolded by Aylme for his visits…
Lessons Bits of Thread 17 May 202130 Dec 2021 Keeping Secrets) Last Wednesday I integrated world-building into my latest story in a subtle way. It began with the boy, Cace, being angry at the girl, Aylme. Cace is trying…
Lessons How Many Characters? 10 May 202130 Dec 2021 Very Limited Scopes) I've always been interested in movies with a limited cast of characters. Take, for example, the 2013 film Locke, starring Tom Hardy. The entire film takes place…
Lessons Children. Conflict. Play. 3 May 202130 Dec 2021 The Intersection of Story) In mathematics we learn that one vector defines a single-dimensional space. It is a line or a direction, a single, unchanging thrust into space. Two vectors,…
Lessons Depart to Return Again 26 Apr 202130 Dec 2021 A Gap Between) There is an unspoken rule in storytelling that if two characters meet together for a scene and depart at the end, then the next scene won't begin…
Give Me Pen and Paper 