Mysteries come in many different flavors, from cozies to hard-boiled detectives. So what unites all these disparate plots under one umbrella? All mysteries share 3 things in common A secret, unknown to both protagonist and reader, that poses a story question A protagonist in search of an answer to that story question Clues to allow…
Author: Dani Alcorn
Writing A Great Synopsis
To convince an agent or publisher your manuscript is one they should pay attention to, you need to have a great synopsis. Specific guidelines may vary, but as a rule of thumb, a synopsis is a one-page, double-spaced description of your entire story. It should be about 450 words. The goal is to give your…
Good Writers Aren’t Born, They’re Made
90% of an author’s quality stems from skills they’ve learned, practiced, and perfected. (Only 10% is natural talent.) So if you feel like the quality of your writing over time looks like this: …It’s probably because you’re trying to learn from the wrong resources at the wrong times. Here are the two mistakes I see…
Interview with Jeremy Ross, Author/Illustrator of the Mustard Series
I chatted with Amazon Best-Selling author, illustrator, and Writing Academy graduate, Jeremy Ross, about the release of his third picture book in the Mustard Series: Mustard Thinks Twice! (available from Amazon). This time… Ketchup is up to his sneaky tricks again, and Mustard is faced with a difficult decision. Will Mustard join Ketchup and Ranch…
Types of Editing
What are the different types of editing and how are they different from one another? I get this question a lot, so I thought I’d answer it here on our blog. There are 3 main types of editing and they’re usually tackled in this order: 1. Developmental Editing Developmental Editing is a holistic look at…
Why Write Screenplays?
I was a novelist before I was a screenwriter. And, like most novelists, I firmly believed the book was always (well, okay, almost always) better. So why write screenplays? I found my answer when I had an idea I was convinced was going to be a novel. It had a great protagonist and an interesting…
Analysis: Moana (2016)
Moana has been on my mind recently thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s adorable video singing his rap to his one-year-old. Like most kid’s movies, Moana’s structure is impeccable. And, like most musicals, some of the nine story structure checkpoints even get their own song! Here’s how this movie breaks down: Act 1 Hook The…
Tips for Working/Writing from Home
Right now, many people are in the unexpected situation of having to figure out how to effectively work from home. Those who don’t work (or can’t work from home in self-quarantine ) are also facing the prospect of figuring out how to live, pursue hobbies, and relax in the same space with minimal or no…
Analysis: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Like many romance novels, this book has two protagonists. That means there are two complete sets of story structure checkpoints woven together. First, here’s a quick summary: Stella Lane is a smart woman. She loves numbers, statistics, and algorithms. She has very little dating or sexual experience because, frankly, she doesn’t find it that appealing….
Free (and Lower-Cost) Alternatives to Final Draft
Formatting a screenplay is A LOT of work. Theoretically, I suppose you could do it in a word processor, but it would take ten times as long and drive you crazy. That means screenwriters rely on software to do the heavy lifting so we can focus our energy on the important parts (you know, character…