Fundamental Fridays

Nonfiction and Fiction Genre Dimensions

Fundamental Fridays

“Stories are just hyper-realistic microcosms of reality.” I gaped as Shawn said it, or at least something to that effect. As often happens during training events, it was a brief moment spoken and then left behind as though it was something everyone knew. And maybe most of them on that call did, but my mind… Read more »

Choosing Your Narrative Device

Fundamental Fridays

To write a story that sells, we must write a story that works and delivers a satisfying reader experience. To write a story that works, we focus on the global genre because that’s what your story is about. A story that works is one that meets reader expectations for one of the twelve content genres, including conventions and obligatory moments…. Read more »

The 5-Minute Nonfiction Chapter Outline

Fundamental Fridays

“We need another chapter, don’t we?” We were on the last leg of revisions, with a deadline at play, and the gap had just become clear. Painfully so. A serious pivot in the author’s life required a serious pivot in his Big Idea book (or Big Idea-lite, if you’re exploring that concept with me), and… Read more »

Tales that Terrify: How Stories Make us Feel Fear

Fundamental Fridays

Why do we want to be scared? Every year I find myself at a haunted house type event. I wait in line, sometimes for several hours, to walk voluntarily into an environment where scary looking people, dressed up to make me think I’m living a nightmare, scream, bang things at me and get as close… Read more »

Overcoming Your All-is-Lost Moment as a Writer

Fundamental Fridays

Join Story Grid Editor Allison Fairhurst this week as she goes through some solutions to combat creative lulls, blocks, and your all-is-lost moment as a writer.

Crafting the Master Detective

Fundamental Fridays

We all have one: a favorite detective. Who hasn’t binge-watched episodes of their favorite detective show? Okay, maybe not everyone loves crime shows or will stay up into the pre-dawn hours reading an Agatha Christie novel; however, most of us can think of a crime show or book they’ve enjoyed.What makes a good crime story?… Read more »

TAXI DRIVER

Fundamental Fridays

Psychological Thriller or Psychological Western? “As the earth moves toward the sun, Travis Bickle moves toward violence.” ~ Paul Schrader This post contains adult language that may be offensive. I have kept the gore out of it except for one small photo at the end. Taxi Driver has held tight to its reputation of being… Read more »

How long should a chapter be?

Fundamental Fridays

How long should a chapter be? Should be it be one scene? Is there a word maximum or minimum to guide us? Like all story questions we analyze with our Story Grid tools, we can take an analytical approach to this problem and come up with an answer supported by the stories we love to study. Why… Read more »

Point of View Options

Fundamental Fridays

The problem of choosing the point of view for your story appears to be a fairly simple one. The primary options are first person, third person, and a couple of varieties of omniscience. In writing, what appears to be true on the surface isn’t always the most useful truth. Point of view, together with narrative… Read more »

Nonfiction Storytelling Commandments

Fundamental Fridays

In my last two posts about nonfiction storytelling, we first broke down the types of story we see, use, and analyze every day, then began to break down the barriers of resistance that keep us from telling our own stories. In both, we dug into the idea that story is innate in us—a deeply felt… Read more »

<< Older Articles

Fundamental Fridays

Nonfiction and Fiction Genre Dimensions

Fundamental Fridays

Choosing Your Narrative Device

Fundamental Fridays

The 5-Minute Nonfiction Chapter Outline

Fundamental Fridays

Tales that Terrify: How Stories Make us Feel Fear

Fundamental Fridays

Overcoming Your All-is-Lost Moment as a Writer

Fundamental Fridays

Crafting the Master Detective

Fundamental Fridays

TAXI DRIVER

Fundamental Fridays

How long should a chapter be?

Fundamental Fridays

Point of View Options

Fundamental Fridays

Nonfiction Storytelling Commandments

Fundamental Fridays

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Fundamental Fridays

Still not finding whatyou're looking for?

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