How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point Arc
By Ali Hale - 3 minute read One of my favourite “how to write” books is Nigel Watts’ Writing A Novel and Getting Published. My battered, torn and heavily-pencil-marked copy is a testament to how useful I’ve found it over the years. Although the cover appears to be on the verge of falling off altogether, I’ve risked opening the book once more to bring you Watts’ very useful “Eight-Point Story Arc” – a fool-proof, fail-safe and time-honoured way to structure a story. (Even if you’re a short story writer or flash fiction writer rather than a novelist, this structure still applies, so don’t be put off by the title of Watts’ book.) The eight points which Watts lists are, in order: StasisTriggerThe questSurpriseCritical choiceClimaxReversalResolution He explains that every classic plot passes through these stages and that he doesn’t tend to use them to plan a story, but instead uses the points during the writing process: So, what do the eight points mean? Stasis Trigger The quest Surprise Climax Reversal
50 Portrait Retouching Tutorials To Take Your Photoshop Skills To A New Level
Email Is it something that often happens to you? You just sit and keep on looking through your photos on the computer screen trying to take a closer look at your full-size pictures. And then it occurs to you that they didn’t really suck that much during the actual shoot? Of course, what you see during the shoot with your eyes and what you get after the photo session is not the same thing. Photoshop is capable of making slightly imperfect photo into an awesome shot. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. \24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
10 of My Favorite Writing Craft Sites
The writing journey is all about discovering what works best of for each of us as individual, and very unique, writers. Learning from others is valuable in helping us glean tips and fit together the puzzle pieces that will form our own writing processes. Today, I’d like to share with you ten of the sites that inspire, educate, and help me refine my process—plus, they’re run by a bunch of super awesome folks! 1. Jody Hedlund: Her spot-on insights into the publishing and marketing processes never fail to offer me something to chew on. Plus, she has the best post titles in the business! 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
How to Break the Rules of Writing (& More) According to Bestselling YA author Ransom Riggs
Like most first conversations and bad first drafts, my (WD’s Managing Editor Adrienne Crezo) interview with Ransom Riggs begins with a discussion about the weather. And not just any weather, either, but peculiar versions of standard precipitation: dust storms, cloudbursts, thundersnow and tornadoes. Of course, Riggs is experiencing none of those phenomena as he sits in the warmth of the never-ending summer of Los Angeles. “I hate to tell you what it’s like here right now,” he says. That kind of easygoing humor is familiar to Riggs’ fans. Whatever dreams Riggs may have had about his future, he couldn’t have predicted the wild success of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, a tale of time travel and magic set against the eerie backdrop of unnerving black-and-white photos of levitating girls and creepy twin clowns. It’s easy to see why Riggs is enjoying the ride, but what appears to have happened overnight actually evolved over many years. [Writing a Hero's Adventure story? Yes.
Fastest Way to Create Comic Strips and Cartoons - Toondoo
Al's Writing Block: Writing: How to Describe a Room
I've noticed lately in the stats that people have been actively searching for "how to describe a room." Even though I had done a writing prompt that called for using the description of a room, I never did go over the particulars of describing locations. So for anybody looking for some specific answers, here are my thoughts on describing interior settings, for fiction and prose. First and foremost, you got to ask yourself, what importance is the room or setting to the story or characters? If the room is only there for a brief passing scene, it may just suffice to say "so-and-so went into the broom closet. For more significant settings, where you really do want to paint the picture in the readers' heads and firmly establish a sense of space or ambiance, then of course you'll want to dig into more details. The objects in a room - furniture and stuff - may or may not factor into your scene. You'll also want to describe things if they're not usually associated with a given place. Do:
Evertoon: réaliser de petits films d’animations en 3D sur iPad
Une application très marrante, pas destinée à un environnement pédagogique au départ mais qui a sûrement quelques atouts pour cela. Evertoon vois propose de réaliser de petits films d’animations sans aucune programmation. L’interface est extrêmement simple puisque l’on débute toujours avec deux personnages sur un décor. Cette scène est la base, à vous ensuite de modifier les éléments pour qu’ils correspondent à votre histoire et vous pourrez réaliser ce genre de saynètes. L’interface est simple donc puisqu’il faut en fait customiser ce qui est déjà l’écran. Chaque bouton édition représente une possibilité de changement. vous pouvez donc changer le décor et chaque personnage. il est possible d’utiliser les éléments fournis par l’application pour les décors et les personnages. Et si vous ne trouvez pas votre bonheur dans les choix proposés, il est toujours possible d’avoir recours à vos propres images pour le fonds et pour les personnages. Selon les actions, les angles de caméra changent.
Novel Writing Help
La descrizione by Cristiana Pivetta on Prezi
25 Things You Should Know About Character
Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling And now… Here you’ll find the many things I believe — at this moment! 1. Without character, you have nothing. 2. A great character can be the line between narrative life and story death. 3. Don’t believe that all those other aspects are separate from the character. 4. The audience will do anything to spend time with a great character. 5. It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. 6. It doesn’t matter if we “like” your character, or in the parlance of junior high whether we even “like-like” your character. 7. It is critical to smack the audience in the crotchal region with an undeniable reason to give a fuck. 8. You must prove this thesis: “This character is worth the audience’s time.” 9. Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 10. 11. 12. 13. The law of threes. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Story Map
The Story Map interactive includes a set of graphic organizers designed to assist teachers and students in prewriting and postreading activities. The organizers are intended to focus on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution development. Students can develop multiple characters, for example, in preparation for writing their own fiction, or they may reflect on and further develop characters from stories they have read. After completing individual sections or the entire organizer, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment. The versatility of this tool allows it to be used in multiple contexts. Grades K – 2 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson Collaborative Stories 1: Prewriting and Drafting Students hone their teamwork skills and play off each other's writing strengths as they participate in prewriting activities for a story to be written collaboratively by the whole class. Grades K – 2 | Lesson Plan | Unit back to top
