Welcome
This is the official website and blog of Kay Kenyon, author of the science fiction epic, The Entire and The Rose. You can sign up for my mailing list, above, to receive a bi-monthly digest of my news and highlights of my blog topics. Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time.
Last time I talked about writing in scenes: what they are and how they can discipline your writing. But not all scenes are equal.
We all know that some scenes need to carry more weight than others. But which ones? And where do they fit in a novel’s architecture? While there are competing views on what the scaffolding of a novel should be, I’m going to give you the leading one, and the one I use.
There are six crucial scenes that bring your story into focus. Each should be an emotionally charged packet of drama that turns the protagonist’s fortunes (a reversal.) Read More »
People shake their heads in bemused wonder. How do you get a novel written? How can it possibly be done, given how–well, long it is?
Getting pecked to death by a duck
If you think the answer is one page at a time, I’m going to try to convince you otherwise. One page at a time is daunting and relentless. And one page at a time drains the creative power of those longer, meaningful units of drama that will fire you up.
Scenes are miniature stories, compressed pieces of fiction that, brought together in a book, relate to each other. Aside from the fact that they are the inescapable building blocks of stories, they have the additional benefit of making a writing day manageable. Read More »
No one can teach you to write a really fine novel. I take that back. They can teach it, but your novel may still flounder. It’s all in the gestalt of your finished story. It’s up to you to make the artistic choices.
However, the tools of the novelist are fairly basic. You should master them, and one way is to read (and take classes on) different approaches. Each teacher will come at things like plot and character and subplots a little differently. But they all talk about the same set of tools. That being the case, it’s time to start building your library!
Here are a few of my faves, sort of in order of complexity:
- How to Tell a Story, Peter Rubie & Gary Provost
- How to Write a Damn Good Novel, James N. Frey
- The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler Read More »
Can’t find time to write? Don’t feel like it? Lost your nerve? If you’re not writing, you might be suffering from simple procrastination–but I’m here to say, it’s often not simple at all. Take it from one who has polished procrastination to a high art: Not writing can be eerily complex.
For one thing, there’s always a reason not to write.
A Dark and Subtle Drain
“I have to clear my email in-box, catch the matinee, finish the sports section . . .” Add to that: “What’s the use? I’ll never find an agent, finish the novel, write well . . .” But what if these distractions and loss of nerve aren’t merely annoyances, but a dark and subtle drain that is at odds with your highest aspirations? Read More »
Like most of you, I’ve read a dozen books on writing the novel. Most of them try to tell you how to write something dramatic, memorable, believable, engaging . . . all important qualities. (And ones I’d like my books to have! Thus Kay reads lots of these things.)
Now comes along something a little different: Larry Brooks has written a book on novel structure. Story Structure Demystified. And oh boy, are you in for a ride. Read More »
Pyr’s generous giveaway on Kindle! For a limited time.
Free on Kindle
