I have a very active imagination and whenever I imagine a story I become quickly aware of a ridiculous amount of details about the plot and the characters. Very often—especially with short stories— I start with an idea that I believe is quite strong in its own right. However, if… Read more“Choosing your significant details”
Category: Advice Column
Transcending the evil twin meme
I hate, hate, HATE the Evil Twin Meme. The point is not for one to defeat the other, but for them to unite to fight the real bad guys. How do I avoid making this completely trite?—Iapetus999 For those of you who’ve been following this advice column since the beginning,… Read more“Transcending the evil twin meme”
Differentiating between exposition in fiction & film
Is there an equivalent to exposition in film?—@akimoku In scriptwriting, exposition is described as “Act II stuff,” more than a quarter of the way in. Exposition as backstory in film, often flashback scene (dreams, memories, etc.) In film, it’s sometimes dialogue, but usually action. Someone finds a old news clipping,… Read more“Differentiating between exposition in fiction & film”
Differentiating between exposition & character experience
Re: 3rd person: what is the difference between 1st person telling us their feelings and 3rd person feeling etc (both expos?)—@AidanFritz What (if any) is the relationship between interior monologue and exposition?—@destigarribia Are there certain POVs that lend themselves to use of exposition more than other, as in exposition that… Read more“Differentiating between exposition & character experience”
Differentiating between exposition & dialog
Pointing out during an exposition can be done via a dialogue or whatever?—@so_you_know In 3rd person, is there the same leeway for expository dialogue? Still characters talking, feels different—@Wiswell Now, there are three levels of specific perspective you can employ in telling a story: dialog (“She said that?” Yes, she… Read more“Differentiating between exposition & dialog”
Differentiating between exposition & backstory
Aaaaaaaoooooh in re: expo is a backstory?—@so_you_know Then would backstory be exposition?—@marisabirns Exposition as backstory in film, often flashback scene (dreams, memories, etc.)—@AllInky So an ‘info dump’, however it is done, is not exposition?—@Story_Craft Now, we did have a great conversation about exposition on #storycraft Sunday, and I did go… Read more“Differentiating between exposition & backstory”
Defining exposition
I’m confused as to what novelists mean by ‘exposition’; do they simply mean any narration that isn’t description, whether it imparts information or not? For example, would novelists consider paragraphs of the ‘narrator’ musing on the meaning of the story that we have just read, but adding nothing to the… Read more“Defining exposition”
Trimming for your genre
Dear Editor, When I completed my novel, it contained 91,000 words! After careful editing, it is down to 62,000 words—still lengthy for my genre—upper middle grade. I feel like I have trimmed the story as far as I can, but it’s my first novel and I’m worried that its length… Read more“Trimming for your genre”
Creating a satisfying ending
I’m about to write the climax, ending, and denouement of my story. Any suggestions for keeping the tension high, and creating a satisfying ending (even if it’s not a “happy” one)?—Lyn South YES. It took me three chapters to cover everything I know about this in the Art & Craft… Read more“Creating a satisfying ending”
Writing by word count or set time?
Write by word count or set time each day??—@oldguey Hey, did you folks all get together and decide you were worried about just one thing this week? This is kind of eerie. Sure, you can write by word count. Or you can set a minimum time limit. If you’re lucky… Read more“Writing by word count or set time?”