Plot Consultant

Jumping in Time in Writing a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay

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I've written extensively about the problems with using flashbacks when writing a novel, memoir, screenplay. Just as jumping backwards in time, jumping forward takes the reader out of the here and now of the cause and effect between scenes and can interfere with their ability to drop deeply into your story.Watch how often you make substantial time jumps in your story. Jumping in time too often can be disconcerting to the reader. Pace yourself. The tighter your scenes are tied by cause …

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Main Character is Both Protagonist and Antagonist

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A writer has worked for 7 months on a treatment about a veteran from the United States military. The story is timely and the writer's promise of insight and meaning into a troubling social issue is exciting.At what looks like around the Crisis (based on his scene count), the writer comes to the realization that the protagonist is both the protagonist and antagonist because he is still at war with everything, mostly with himself.Thanks to The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any …

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Searching for the Strongest Climax

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I am often asked what the #1 problem writers have with plot. My answer varies, depending on the most recent plot consultation or plot workshop I've just done.Writers often struggle with finding the exact right climax and resolution to their novels, memoirs an screenplays.So much time and thought and writing goes into developing a compelling protagonist with a mysterious back story, deciding where is the exact right beginning of the story, how to make the action exciting and the book concept big, …

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Thematic Significance of Stories

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First, he writes a rough draft of what sounds like an exciting middle grade novel filled with external dramatic action, likable characters, rich historical events and meaning.Next, he's slogs through a re"vision" process that includes re-plotting his story after attending a plot workshop with me, reading The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master and The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories and, before pulling the entire …

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Swimming without a Life Vest, Flying without a Parachute, Writing without Pre-Plotting First

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The PWBook of Prompts Challenge is a lifesaver for writers who think of themselves as pantsers -- writing by the seat-of-their-pants without much of an pre-plot in place first.On the other hand, the Prompts Challenge is a tremendous challenge for writers who think of themselves as plotters. I, for one, revel in pre-plotting and re-plotting and doing it again. To be stripped of a Plot Planner to refer to is like wearing a blindfold and twisted in circles and expect myself to hit the …

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