Building Your Story Arc: Discovering the Bones of Your Story

(I recently got this in an email from Writers Digest. Check it out.)

SUE JOHNSON eMedia ProductionCoordinator Writer's Digest Tutorials Structure in a story, whether fiction, nonfiction, short or long, has to do with integrity--wholeness. There is a whole and that whole is not visible or predictable to the reader but sensed by the reader. The result is something like giving a reader an experience of "gravity," which they will experience as your expertise and talent--and take the power of that for granted. Now testing for the structural elements represents the best tool a writer can use to find that integrity of story. Furthermore testing for structure can often get a writer out of story trouble, especially when we hit a "wall" in continuing to develop a story. Charlotte Cook, MFA, is a former publisher and acquisition editor who now works as a story editor. Her clients are often successfully published and have won awards and honorable mention for their work, including in Writer's Digest contests. She is a published writer as well, writing creative nonfiction and literary short stories. Her suggestions, examples and comments are considered practical and follow a simple guideline: compelling story, engaging characters, evocative world. Her Writer's Digest Tutorial "8 Things First-time Novelists Need to Avoid" was the number one tutorial of 2012. During this 58-minute video tutorial, you'll discover tools to: Move your story forward Measure the effectiveness of the story arc Trouble-shoot issues of pace and momentum Understand how readers perceive gravity-like structure Evaluating the effectiveness of the structural integrity of your story is an ongoing process within completing a story. No talk here of outlines before the fact, superimposing requirements that don't relate to the story arc. Instead this practical, reader-oriented approach might even result in the pitch and synopsis material you will need at a later date for agents, editors and publishers. Wouldn't that be a great by-product? Preview Building Your Story Arc: Discovering the Bones of Your Story > Writer's Digest Tutorials Members enjoy full access to all tutorials featured in this newsletter, as well as every tutorial on the site. Haven't taken advantage of the wisdom bestowed through the WD tutorials yet? Why not try it out today and see all that our WD tutorials have to offer! You can try WD Tutorials for only $25/month! You will enjoy instant access to 156+ tutorials, including at least one new tutorial added weekly. Also, there are many new tutorials still in development. Feel free to preview the many tutorials immediately available to you through the WD Tutorials site. Wishing you a great week! ~ Sue Johnson~ P.S. If you missed the last newsletter (or two), be sure to watch these new and featured tutorials: Writing the Thriller: The Secrets to Keeping Readers Up All Night First Impressions: Writing Opening Lines, Paragraphs, and Chapters That Keep an Agent's Interest Full Cast: How to Enrich and Expand Every Character in Your Novel Writing a Story Ending that Leaves a Lasting Impression Create Characters that Propel Your Novel to the Bestseller List How to Create an Engaging Blog and Build an Audience Three Secrets of the Greats: Structure Your Story for Ultimate Reader Addiction For quick and easy access to all WD Tutorials available to you, use this link: View All WD Tutorials >

Tutorials to Help You Hone Your Writing

Why Am I Getting Rejected? Start Your Story Right: How to Hook an Agent in Your First Pages An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell How to Plot and Structure Your Novel Write a Memoir That Sells Crafting and Selling a Page-Turner How to Write Dialogue Like a Pro Build Solid Story Structure & Write Great Fiction