Grade School Basics
Sentence
Structure: how to craft an effective sentence
Capitalization
and Spelling: the rules of capitalization and spelling
Punctuation:
Part
One: periods, question marks, exclamation marks, and commas
Part
Two: colons and semi-colons
Part
Three: en dashes and em dashes
Part
Four: other dashes and hyphens
Part
Five: apostrophes
Part
Six: quotation marks
Research:
common websites useful for writing research
Creative Writing Basics
Point
of View: the differences between each point of view perspective
Scenes:
a look at the three parts of a scene
Plotting:
different ways to plot and a list of relevant links
Story Structure:
Three
Act: a look at the three act structure, with diagrams
The Hero's Journey
Introduction:
a brief overview of the Hero's Journey
Stage One: Ordinary World
Stage
Two: Call to Adventure
Stage
Three: Refusal of the Call
Stage
Four: Meeting with the Mentor
Stage
Five: Crossing the First Threshold
Stage
Six: Tests, Allies, Enemies
Stage
Seven: Approach to the Inmost Cave
Stage Eight: the Ordeal
Stage Nine: the Reward
Stage Ten: the Road Back
Stage Eleven: Resurrection
Stage Twelve: Return with the Elixir
Propp's Fairy Tale
Introduction: a brief overview of Propp's 31 fairy tale functions
Part One: Initial Situation, Absentation, Interdiction, Violation of
Interdiction
Part Two: Reconnaissance, Delivery, Trickery, Complicity
Part Three: Villainy or Lack, Mediation, Beginning Counter-Action,
Departure
Part Four: First Function of the Donor, Hero’s Reaction, Receipt of a
Magical Agent, Guidance
Part Five: Struggle, Branding, Victory, Liquidation
Part Six: Return, Pursuit, Rescue, Unrecognized Arrival
Part Seven: Unfounded Claims, Difficult Task, Solution, Recognition
Part Eight: Exposure, Transfiguration, Punishment, Wedding
Applied to Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
Stardust, and The Princess Bride
Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet
Literary Description
Show vs. Tell
Voice and Style
Characters
Protagonist
Antagonist
Supporting characters
Archetypes (Hero's Journey)
Character Worksheet
Setting and Description
World-Building
Exposition
Dialogue
Pacing
Conflict
Theme
Stage Eight: the Ordeal
Stage Nine: the Reward
Stage Ten: the Road Back
Stage Eleven: Resurrection
Stage Twelve: Return with the Elixir
Propp's Fairy Tale
Introduction: a brief overview of Propp's 31 fairy tale functions
Part One: Initial Situation, Absentation, Interdiction, Violation of
Interdiction
Part Two: Reconnaissance, Delivery, Trickery, Complicity
Part Three: Villainy or Lack, Mediation, Beginning Counter-Action,
Departure
Part Four: First Function of the Donor, Hero’s Reaction, Receipt of a
Magical Agent, Guidance
Part Five: Struggle, Branding, Victory, Liquidation
Part Six: Return, Pursuit, Rescue, Unrecognized Arrival
Part Seven: Unfounded Claims, Difficult Task, Solution, Recognition
Part Eight: Exposure, Transfiguration, Punishment, Wedding
Applied to Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
Stardust, and The Princess Bride
Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet
Literary Description
Show vs. Tell
Voice and Style
Storytelling Basics
How to Write a Compelling Opening SceneCharacters
Protagonist
Antagonist
Supporting characters
Archetypes (Hero's Journey)
Character Worksheet
Setting and Description
World-Building
Exposition
Dialogue
Pacing
Conflict
Theme
Revision Basics
Outlining
Revision Methods
Critique Groups and Beta Readers
Analyzing Your Story
How to Revise...
Character
Plot
Beginning
Middle
End
Scenes
Exposition
Setting and Description
Theme
Final Polish
Chapter Openings
Chapter Endings
Dialogue
Word Usage
Resources
- The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition
- Memo from the Story Department: Secrets of Structure and Character
- Elements of Fiction Writing – Characters & Viewpoint
- Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
- Writing for Emotional Impact
- Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict & Suspense
- Characters, Emotion, and Viewpoint
- Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make it Great
- Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need
- Revision & Self-Editing
- The Well-Presented Manuscript
- Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises
- The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
Miscellaneous
WriteOnCon
2011: links to several interesting articles, chats, Q&As, and
videos
WriteOnCon 2012: all the articles, chats, panels, and videos
Michael Hauge's RWA 2012 workshop: “Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories”
Michael Hauge's RWA 2012 workshop: “Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories”
Posts will be added as they go live.
Happy writing!