Today’s Most Popular Articles
- The False Narrative
- Protagonist & Antagonist - Who ARE These Guys?
- Writing Stories About Hopes and Dreams
- How do you create a main character who is an antagonist?
- The Main Character and Duality
- Use a Log Line to Clarify Your Story Before You Write
- Narrative Science and Dramatica
- Psychology, Personality, Persona & Perception - The 4 P's Revisited
- The Dramatic Triangle
- Identifying Your Main Character
Topics
Author Archives: Melanie Anne Phillips
Protagonist & Antagonist – Who ARE These Guys?
The protagonist and antagonist may not be who you think they are. For one thing, a protagonist is not necessarily the hero of a story. Structurally speaking, the protagonist is the one who shakes up the status quo – that’s … Continue reading
Posted in Characters
Comments Off on Protagonist & Antagonist – Who ARE These Guys?
Change is Good (or maybe bad)
At the core of a story’s message is a very simple issue – whether the author is telling us it is better to be like the main character or not. This is usually thought of as the moral of the story and … Continue reading
Posted in General Tips
Comments Off on Change is Good (or maybe bad)
Use a Log Line to Clarify Your Story Before You Write
Having a core concept for your story before you write will provide you with a creative beacon – a lighthouse by which to guide your creative efforts so they stay on course to your ultimate purpose: a completed novel. While … Continue reading
Posted in Creative Writing
Comments Off on Use a Log Line to Clarify Your Story Before You Write
Get Into Your Characters’ Heads
One of the most powerful opportunities of the novel format is the ability to describe what a character is thinking. In movies or stage plays (with exceptions) you must show what the character is thinking through action and/or dialog. But … Continue reading
Posted in Creative Writing
Comments Off on Get Into Your Characters’ Heads
Letting Go of Characters
Over the course of the story, your reader/audience has come to know your characters and to feel for them. The story doesn’t end when your characters and their relationships reach a climax. Rather, the reader/audience will want to know the … Continue reading
Posted in Creative Writing, Story Development
Comments Off on Letting Go of Characters
Excuses, Excuses….
When a child comes up with a false reason for some small transgression, we know he is just making an excuse to avoid punishment or to side-step a negative emotional response. Adults continue to make excuses; they just do it … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
Comments Off on Excuses, Excuses….
Characters: The Attributes of Age
Some writers tend to create characters that are more or less the same age as themselves. Other writers populate their stories with characters of all ages but have them all act as if they are the same age as the … Continue reading
Posted in Creative Writing
Comments Off on Characters: The Attributes of Age
The Hero Breaks Down
Groucho Marx once said, “You’re headed for a nervous breakdown. Why don’t you pull yourself to pieces?” That, in fact, is what we’re going to do to our hero. Now many writers focus on a Hero and a Villain as … Continue reading
Posted in Story Structure
Comments Off on The Hero Breaks Down
Coming Apart at the Themes
Even when a story has memorable characters, a riveting plot and a fully developed genre, it may still be coming apart at the themes. Theme is perhaps the most powerful, yet least understood element of story structure. It is powerful … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
Comments Off on Coming Apart at the Themes
What Is Dramatica?
What is Dramatica? Dramatica is a theory of story that offers both writers and critics a clear view of what story structure is and how it works. Dramatica is also the inspiration behind the line of story development software products … Continue reading
Posted in Dramatica
Comments Off on What Is Dramatica?
