Scaffolding is the temporary assemblage of lightweight poles and platforms to provide a workspace during the construction or decoration of a building. And in writing it’s a metaphor for a problem we all encounter when we are revising. In this post I am going to break down what some examples of scaffolding, why they’re a … Continue reading What is Scaffolding?
In the Study. With the Candlestick: How to Revise Dialogue-Heavy Scenes
My first drafts tend to look like murder mystery dinner parties. While that’s partially due to my Clue obsession, it’s mostly due to my overreliance on dialogue. The protagonist goes to Character A, who gives them a bit of information, and then they go to Character B, who gives them some more information, and so … Continue reading In the Study. With the Candlestick: How to Revise Dialogue-Heavy Scenes
Building Palaces Out of Paragraphs: Sentence Linkage in V. E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic
Hello friend! Today I’m going to talk paragraph structure, mostly as it applies to description, by doing something I haven’t done since college—close reading! I’ll examine V. E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic not only because it’s a gem of a book and you should read it and write a review on Conglomerate-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but … Continue reading Building Palaces Out of Paragraphs: Sentence Linkage in V. E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic
Brick by Brick: How to Build a Scene from the Ground Up
Oftentimes, the hardest thing about writing something new is how to translate the composition from your head to the page. We might take notes in notebooks, scribbling ideas or pieces of dialogue for later use, but that doesn’t mean they always translate with ease. The hardest thing is the first jump, the start, and if … Continue reading Brick by Brick: How to Build a Scene from the Ground Up
Analyzing the Differences between Middle Grade and Young Adult
If you’ve been around the writing community for any period of time or have been to a bookstore lately, you probably have a general understanding that Middle Grade (MG) protagonists are middle school age and Young Adult (YA) novels star teens. Right? Well, yes and no. Beyond the age of readers and main characters, there … Continue reading Analyzing the Differences between Middle Grade and Young Adult
Epistolary Pacing
I'll be honest, when I wrote TECHNICALLY, YOU STARTED IT I had only a vague idea of how to manage the pacing. I had the basics: a sense of time and story progression. I had a weak beginning and an ending too spread out to achieve the right emotional payoff. But those are normal pacing … Continue reading Epistolary Pacing
Atmospheric Pacing
Atmosphere, by definition, is the pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or work of art, and it includes so many different things when it comes to storytelling. Setting, character development, plot movement, reader senses—you see where I’m going with this. We use atmosphere as a motivator or a catalyst, as a way to … Continue reading Atmospheric Pacing
