Writing Roots

Fairy tales have been one of the go-to ways to teach children about the world for centuries. Though the stories have changed greatly since their origination, we can recognize titles such as Snow White, Thumbelina, and The Little Red Riding Hood. When it comes to the history of storytelling, fairy tales and bedtime stories cannot go ignored. While they had a surge of popularity in the 1700s to 1800...

Both William Shakespeare and the invention of the printing press had a major impact on storytelling across the world. This is when stories for entertainment alone became popular – and accessible – for the masses. Books were no longer for the elite and plays were written for the common man as well as royalty. This was also brought in a time where common folk could be writers. Education was becoming...

There came a time in the history of storytelling, especially around the rise of Christianity in Europe, where story became a way to educate the general populace. However, it started long before Christianity was even established. Back in the times of the Greeks and then Romans, theater was used to teach the common people about the gods and their workings. It was one of the main ways outside of dire...

There was a point in the history of storytelling where the tales began to include a character arc. They also became more about man versus man, rather than man versus monsters. The stories became about overcoming the external foe as well as becoming something better. About starting as the underdog and becoming the hero. One such example is the biblical story of David and Goliath. Not only did the D...

Some of the earliest stories we know from the time around the beginning of written language were stories about gods and fate. This is where stories started to transform from being primarily for survival to conveying ideas beyond the individual. This was a pivotal time, not only because of the introduction of written language, but for the concept of believing there is something else out there – a s...

Story has been imbedded in human culture since the beginning, even since those prehistoric times before written language. Though we may not have those written records of what stories they told, we do know they were telling them. Prehistoric people showed story in their art on cave walls, in the traditions they passed down from generation to generation, in the warnings they gave to survive. In thos...

Choose Your Adventure books are a unique way to involve the reader in the storytelling process. Many of you may remember the old Goosebumps “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories, but it’s not a structure reserved for middle grade books anymore. Writing a Choose Your Adventure, or interactive, structure is difficult. For you pantsers out there, it’s even more difficult. This structure takes plotting...

Serial stories have started to make a comeback in the writing format recently. While it’s always been there in the form of comic books and fiction magazines, the internet has helped this unique structure gain popularity and strength. Many authors have created episodic and serial stories over the centuries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published the Sherlock Holmes detective stories as serials originally...

If you’re looking for a unique way to tell a slow burn suspense, consider the reverse story structure. This is all about going backwards in time. The reverse structure isn’t just hitting rewind and watching the whole thing from front to back, but by taking pieces of the story and telling them out of order. Most often it’s happening to the main character. Maybe they’re suffering from amnesia and re...

“Story within a story” is a fun framing device for writing your novel in a unique way. The idea behind this structure is that the narrator is actually a character. We get to see what is happening in their life as well as what’s happening in the tale they’re telling. This structure is anything but new. One of the oldest uses is in the 12th century tale One Thousand and One Nights. The main characte...

A paradigm shift structure is more than a simple plot twist. As the definition states, it’s a fundamental change to the underlying assumptions. One of the most famous uses of this structure is The Sixth Sense, a film by M. Night Shyamalan. In the movie, both the audience and the main character experience a paradigm shift that completely reframes the entire story. Authors who want to use this struc...

Amnesia has been used in storytelling for a very long time. Soap operas and telenovelas use lost memory frequently to ramp up the drama in their stories. You can use it to, and for more than just a subplot in your own story. There are lots of ways to use amnesia. It can be a witness to a crime having to remember what exactly they saw, or a character who lost their memory once they passed through a...

One way to play with structure and step outside the normal bounds of linear storytelling is to consider the recursion structure. You may know this best from the film Groundhog Day. Recursion is when at least one character relives the same day (or other period of time) again and again. This structure really lends itself to a story focused on the character development and story arc. Outside conflict...

If you’re looking for a unique way to tell a story – especially a crime story – consider the Rashomon structure. Originally a Japanese film, Rashomon told the storyh using the subjective views of those involved in the events. The same scene was shown several times from all different perspectives. Using the Rashomon structure means digging into the characters and how they view the world. People oft...

It’s about time. Stories about time. Throughout August, we’ll be talking about the use of time within story structure, as well as less common structures available. Story structures are the framework used to build a fiction novel or even short stories. Common ones include the three-act, five-act, seven point, or the hero’s journey. Some stories, though, allow for more creativity in the way the stor...

It’s about time. Stories about time. Throughout August, we’ll be talking about the use of time within story structure, as well as less common structures available. Story structures are the framework used to build a fiction novel or even short stories. Common ones include the three-act, five-act, seven point, or the hero’s journey. Some stories, though, allow for more creativity in the way the stor...

Every editing conversation should end with positives and those favorite moments your editor found while reading. An editor isn’t there just to tell you what you did wrong. They should also tell you what you did right, what you did well. This is part of constructive criticism. There will always be things that could be improved, but it is easy to get disheartened when all you see – and all anyone ev...

Worldbuilding can apply to all types of writing, but it is essential for speculative fiction. Modern – and even historical – fiction is easy when it comes to worldbuilding. There is an expectation that the readers will know what you mean when you say a small town or big city. They have knowledge of our world already. When you’re showing a world that you created, there is some obligation to describ...

Dialogue can be tricky for authors, especially if you’ve never heard of the idea of beats in dialogue. It can either feel stilted in an attempt to make it grammatically correct, or end up nonsensical with a lack of structure. What goes in the dialogue and what goes around it? What actually needs to be said out loud? These are all things writers work to improve over time. Unfortunately, they’re not...

Stories generally develop in one of two ways: with a focus on the plot with the characters playing their parts, or a focus on the characters as they navigate the world. In other words, plot-driven or character-driven. Both are valid storytelling techniques and play to the interests of readers in varying genres. Even if you are driven by one, though, you should still be putting effort into developi...

A key to unique characters is to develop and maintain character voice. Think of your favorite books. Can you tell who is speaking without needing to read the dialogue tag? If you can, that means that author developed the character voice. Each character should have their own unique way of thinking and speaking within the story. This doesn’t mean you need to write in accents or use completely differ...

Narrative flow is important for keeping your reader engaged in the plot. You want to keep driving them forward to the next event or next reveal. There are times, though, when it’s okay to reveal something, then step back in time to explain how you got there. This was a major piece of the Disney movie, Emperor’s New Groove. It was also a narrative style used in Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz vs. the...

You’ve probably heard about the trope of Chekov’s Gun. We’ve talked about it here multiple times. The idea behind it is that if there’s something, such as a gun, described in the story then it needs to come into play somehow. It’s the idea of setup and payoff. This can be fairly easy for plotters. Leigh, however, is adamantly not a plotter. This leads to the opposite problem. Each piece of the sto...

The narrative in a story has so much influence on how the story will progress. Most authors are familiar with the broad categories of first person and third person, but there are subtle differences within those broader categories. One of the less-used POVs is first-person omniscient, which comes with its own difficulties. When you choose a narrative POV, you’ll want to make sure it stays consisten...

One major part of the editing process is doing what’s known as developmental edits. These are structural changes to a story. That can be removing scenes or making sure the stage is properly set for the end. As the author, these needed changes can be difficult to see. We get attached to scenes or characters that may have no purpose overall. If you’re a pantser, setting up for the end can’t always h...