I’ve put together a series on YouTube that attempts to define, clarify, or otherwise demystify various writing craft terms. Here, I’ve listed the terms I’ve already examined, and I’ll post additions as more videos are published.
The mountain of editing/revision can be daunting, particularly for long-form stories. Here are four tools you can use to gain perspective of the big picture.
The dramatic prognosis is the calculation the audience makes about the hero’s chances of reaching the goal. You can examine the dramatic prognosis within your story in the planning stage or in the revision stage; it may be helpful in highlighting where the story is lacking.
The inciting incident is often misunderstood. Even seasoned writers sometimes make claims that there can be multiple inciting incidents or that it can occur before the story even begins. But I would argue that most of those claims are rooted in a misunderstanding of the role the inciting incident plays within a story.
In film, orientation is almost immediate. In prose, oreintation requires ink. Here are some guidelines for what orientation the reader needs.
Story is a vortex; a character circles around the climax, wanting and not wanting to get to the center of the vortex, where they will be transformed.
The back-cover synopsis lays out the book’s premise and piques reader interest. Here’s how and why you should write one early and often.
Weak dialogue portrays exchanges of information that leave the energy of the scene flat. Compelling dialogue does these two things.
Turning points are why scenes exist. So it’s essential to understand how and why they work within your story to propel both plot and character.
Irony is more important to storytelling than you might think. It helps create more poignant story events and ushers in more meaningful character transformation.
