Scenes that kill story
Amid all that we’re trying to do as novelists, sometimes we lose sight of one thing that at first glance seems obvious: The crucial...
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KAY KENYON
- Aug 6, 2012
Knitting plot and desire
One of the best questions you can ask of your story-in-development is: Why is this character in this story? That is, why this character...
- Jul 30, 2012
Getting inside the reader’s head
One of the goals of fiction is to evoke a feeling, atmosphere and understanding–in the reader. As a writer, you have things you want to...
- Jul 23, 2012
Protecting your story
Ever think how odd it is that writers want to create their own stories–but then they want others to tell them how to change it? It seems...
- Jul 16, 2012
Five beliefs that will help your story
Lately I’ve been thinking: Great stories don’t so much come from expertise, training and talent as they come from what you believe. You...
- Jul 9, 2012
Five tools for novel continuity
Here is a blog I recently did as a guest post, but updated. It is also the subject of a chat I did with Savvy Authors last month. Read on...
- Jun 28, 2012
The tricky flashback
Flashbacks in fiction are one of those gizmos in your utility drawer that can give you grief. It’s like Gorilla Glue or razor blades....
- Jun 18, 2012
So what
I’m back on it again, the subject of heart. I seem to blog a lot about finding the emotional core of story. Maybe because so many stories...
- Jun 4, 2012
Bad last acts
No, the topic isn’t: the last thing we do before we die. But it’s akin to it. By bad last acts, I mean Act 3 of a lot of novels. For the...
- May 28, 2012
Fascinating stories
In the midst of all the things we’re supposed to do as writers, sometimes we blow past the most basic. We work and rework our plot,...
- May 15, 2012
Writing past cliche
I hope you’re following the new BBC Sherlock Holmes series. There is so much to learn from this marvelous mash-up of the Arthur Conan...
- Apr 27, 2012
The mystery of character
I’ve been thinking about characterization today, and how often our protagonist just does not engage emotionally–no matter how hard we...
- Apr 19, 2012
Dealing with discouragement
Okay, I’ve heard enough. You’re discouraged. Is it all worth it? Is the writing life what it’s chalked up to be? Have you missed the...
- Mar 26, 2012
Eight things I wish a pro had told me
This is the kind of post that every author gets around to writing sooner or later. I collect these when I can find them, because they’re...
- Mar 20, 2012
Romance and desire
Is there a romance in your work in progress? No? Perhaps your story is better off without one, but let’s pause for a moment and consider:...
- Mar 13, 2012
The story that won’t
Sooner or later in your writing life you are going to run up against a novel that just won’t spark to life. Technically the story appears...
- Mar 4, 2012
What, me evil?
This morning’s meditation is on justifying our fictional villains. Do we need to explain them? Shall we establish empathy or at least...
- Feb 19, 2012
Doubt and desire
We hear a lot about making clear what the main character of a story wants. Desire leads to motive and thence to action. It’s a powerful...
- Jan 25, 2012
Facing an agent
Sooner or later you’re going to find yourself face to face with an agent. It’s an important meeting, but an odd one. You have only a...
- Jan 16, 2012
The rich are not like us
Some people get all the breaks. Like rich people and household-name authors. Sometimes it seems that you have to have money to make money...
@2023 Kay Kenyon. All rights reserved.
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