Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel (Part 2)

By Darlene Panzera | February 16, 2021 |
A good story is about a character who ACTS. His actions and decisions drive the story forward. However, many aspiring writers string together scenes that an editor might call ‘episodic.’ What is ‘episodic?’ This is when your character seems to enter a scene without a clear scene goal or intention of pursuing a scene goal, and a random event occurs causing the character to react. Then another disaster happens to this character in the next scene or the character gets more bad news.

A good story is about a character who ACTS. His actions and decisions drive the story forward. However, many aspiring writers string together scenes that an editor might call ‘episodic.’ What is ‘episodic?’ This is when your character seems to enter a scene without a clear scene goal or intention of pursuing a scene goal, and a random event occurs causing the character to react. Then another disaster happens to this character in the next scene or the character gets more bad news.

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Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel

By Darlene Panzera | February 10, 2021 |
Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel (Part I) Ever feel ‘stuck’ while writing or had your story called ‘episodic’ or ‘unmotivated?’ Do you have a hard time moving your story forward in a way that grips the reader? Learn the individual components of Scene & Sequel to structure your scenes, advance the plot, and increase the stakes with each character decision. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

Scene & Sequel: The Secret to Plotting an Epic Novel
(Part I)
Ever feel ‘stuck’ while writing or had your story called ‘episodic’ or ‘unmotivated?’ Do you have a hard time moving your story forward in a way that grips the reader?
Learn the individual components of Scene & Sequel to structure your scenes, advance the plot, and increase the stakes with each character decision.

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Writing Fiction: How to Develop Your Story Premise

By Darlene Panzera | February 2, 2021 |
“What is your story about?” Can you answer that question about your work-in-progress in one, clear, concise sentence? If not, you may need to take some time to craft your story premise. A story premise, also referred to as a logline, is a single sentence (sometimes two) that acts as the foundation of your story. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished #writinghelp #writingcommunity #writingadvice

“What is your story about?”
Can you answer that question about your work-in-progress in one, clear, concise sentence?

If not, you may need to take some time to craft your story premise.
A story premise, also referred to as a logline, is a single sentence (sometimes two) that acts as the foundation of your story.

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12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue

By Darlene Panzera | January 26, 2021 |
Dialogue can be challenging to write. It takes time and practice to craft conversations that are believable, meaningful, serve to push the plot forward, and hold the attention of the reader. To help you improve your craft of fiction writing and make your character’s lines sparkle, we have created a list of 12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingTips #Writer #Writers #WritersLife #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

Dialogue can be challenging to write. It takes time and practice to craft conversations that are believable, meaningful, serve to push the plot forward, and hold the attention of the reader. To help you improve your craft of fiction writing and make your character’s lines sparkle, we have created a list of 12 Quick Tips to Write Dazzling Dialogue.

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10 Questions to Ask When Creating Characters for Your Story

By Darlene Panzera | January 25, 2021 |
You have decided that you want to delve into the world of fiction and write a story. Great! You even have an awesome story idea that you’ve been playing around with in your head. Great! Now…what kind of characters could be in a story like this? And most importantly, who will be the protagonist—the main character of your story? Below, I’ve listed 10 Questions to Ask When Creating Characters for Your Story. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

You have decided that you want to delve into the world of fiction and write a story. Great! You even have an awesome story idea that you’ve been playing around with in your head. Great! Now…what kind of characters could be in a story like this? And most importantly, who will be the protagonist—the main character of your story?

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Macro Edits: Looking at Your Story as a Whole

By Darlene Panzera | January 23, 2021 |
Macro editing looks at the whole story from beginning to end to see if the story makes sense, the characters are consistent with their personality, the plot structure is set up properly and functions to push the story forward. #Writing #writingfiction #WritingTips #Writer #Writers #WritersLife #WritingAdvice #writingtip #writingtips #GetPublished

After you have finished writing the first full draft of your novel, you may want to set it aside for a few weeks before going straight into edits to give your brain time to refresh. Giving yourself time to distance from the story allows you to come back to it with a different perspective. This is exactly what you will need for the first round of revision—macro edits.

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