The written word holds a power both bewitching and dread. The right words can topple kingdoms, grant immortality—even change the course of the world. Join me in The Laboratory as I delve into the foundations and principles of writing, from developing ideas and crafting an authorial voice to caring for yourself and building your community as a writer. New episodes are released every other Wednesday. Pull up a chair and settle in amongst the bubbling brews and frothing phials of the writer’s craft.
I Can’t Look: Plotting Killer Scenes
What keeps a reader turning the page and hungering to find out what happens next? Killer scenes. No, they don’t always need to feature an actual murderer (though some might), but all great scenes feature at least one major element of effective storytelling: tension.
Tension comes from knowing your characters well. Writers must understand a character’s motivations, their moral compass and how they tend to interact with the world around them to craft layers of tension in scenes that then build up until they reach a crescendo.
Tension and a great sense of underlying conflict are some of the greatest tools in the writer’s arsenal. Join us in today’s episode to learn more about wielding these weapons with accuracy and finesse.
Worldbuilding: The Case for a Compendium
Worldbuilding is, perhaps fittingly, a massive, all-encompassing topic that’s easy to get lost in. When you have a world’s worth of detail to develop, it’s hard to tell, not only where to start, but also where to stop so you can shift focus to your actual story. For some writers, developing a setting might even be the end goal. Regardless of why you’re embarking on the endeavor, at some point you’ll likely find yourself asking the question “How do I keep everything organized?”
Enter: the compendium.
Creating Compelling Characters
Last time on The Ingredients we looked at the setting as a starting point for your story. Now let’s look at starting with the drivers of plot: characters.
How to Shape Your Setting
Stories can come from many places. Maybe you want to explore a particular philosophical angle or maybe you’ve thought of a fascinating character. Don’t forget that your setting can be just as enchanting a starting point. In this week’s blog, we’ll be using setting as an anchor point from which to conjure your story.
Inspiration & Idea Generation
A writer may have a wealth of ideas, struggling to even keep pace with the thoughts as they occur. Other times, as if by a magical curse, the wellspring runs dry. Getting stuck when you’re trying to start the next big project can leave you feeling helpless and unmotivated. But there are ways to treat this malady.
Outlines: The Road Map for Your Work
Starting with the structure of your work can not only strengthen your writing, it can also save you lots of time and effort down the road. But where should you organize all of your ideas? This week we’ll be looking into writing outlines.
Writing Fundamentals: Structure for Longevity
In the first of a series on the fundamentals of writing, we’ll be looking at building writing structures that stand against the sands of time.