Fundamental Fridays

How to Write a Great Beginning Hook

Fundamental Fridays

We have two great resources to help with your beginning hook: Podcast Episode: Listen to Shawn Coyne, the founder of Story Grid, explain how to write a great opener to your story. Article: Read Story Grid Certified Editor Savannah Gilbo’s 8 step process to writing a great beginning hook. Podcast Episode: How to Write a… Read more »

Whipping Stories into Shape with the Hero’s Journey

Fundamental Fridays

Despite having seen this movie written up as a “Jazz Thriller,” which sounds like a sexy, new sub-genre that I’d love to see more of, Whiplash is a Performance Story through and through. That doesn’t mean there aren’t elements of Thriller present; it simply means they take a back seat to Performance, as does the… Read more »

The All is Lost Moment

Fundamental Fridays

The All is Lost moment is a crucial element of the Middle Build. It’s the pivot point when the protagonist shifts their pursuit of what they want to the realization of what they need. And that can stop them dead in their tracks.

What romance writers can learn from studying love songs.

Fundamental Fridays

What if I told you that instead of reading the next Nicholas Sparks novel, you could just turn on your favourite love album to study love stories? I had never thought about the importance of storytelling in songwriting until Shawn brought it up at the Story Grid certification seminar in February 2019. So far I… Read more »

The Power of Three

Fundamental Fridays

What I tell you three times is true — “The Hunting of the Snark”, Lewis Carroll Three. 3. III. No matter how you write it down, threes show up in speeches, in slogans, and most definitely in stories. Wikipedia informs us that the importance of this number extends to fields as varied as government, photography,… Read more »

How to Outline a Novel: 5 Steps From Start-to-Finish

Fundamental Fridays

Here’s a fact: some writers call themselves pantsers or discovery writers and can write an entire novel without knowing anything about what happens next. Others want to learn how to outline a novel. Here’s a confession: I am an outliner. For writers like me, the idea of not knowing anything about what happens in your book until… Read more »

How to Use Story Grid to Write a Memoir

Fundamental Fridays

How do you write a book about your life? When you can’t invent the plot points you need to make a story work, but instead must write the real-life events that actually happened, how do you use Story Grid to craft it? Here’s everything you need to know to write an amazing memoir using Story Grid.

10 Tips for Writing Love Triangles (That Aren’t Cliché)

Fundamental Fridays

Fans of the romance genre appreciate a well-written love triangle. And it’s no secret that certain love triangles have shaped some of the most enjoyable stories in all of literature. But how do you write a love triangle that will satisfy readers? How do you avoid your love triangle being labeled as “predictable” or even… Read more »

Objects of Desire, Objects of Conflict

Fundamental Fridays

In the television series Lucifer, the former King of Hell can compel the characters to answer his question: “What is it you desire?” That is, what do they want? In our stories, we have to do a little more work to tease that out of the characters. In the early stages of a story, they… Read more »

Battle Your Way to an Explosive Core Event

Fundamental Fridays

If you’re struggling with your draft, Editors Courtney Harrell and Parul Bavishi will show you how to battle your way to create an explosive Core Event. The Core Event helped me supercharge my Story – Courtney Five years ago on a cold, rainy San Francisco morning, I cozied up in a cafe and began writing… Read more »

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Fundamental Fridays

How to Write a Great Beginning Hook

Fundamental Fridays

Whipping Stories into Shape with the Hero’s Journey

Fundamental Fridays

The All is Lost Moment

Fundamental Fridays

What romance writers can learn from studying love songs.

Fundamental Fridays

The Power of Three

Fundamental Fridays

How to Outline a Novel: 5 Steps From Start-to-Finish

Fundamental Fridays

How to Use Story Grid to Write a Memoir

Fundamental Fridays

10 Tips for Writing Love Triangles (That Aren’t Cliché)

Fundamental Fridays

Objects of Desire, Objects of Conflict

Fundamental Fridays

Battle Your Way to an Explosive Core Event

Fundamental Fridays

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Fundamental Fridays

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