Posts Tagged ‘complications’
Storytelling: A Few Lessons from Life to the Page
I’m snoozing for ten minutes before my alarm is set to go off when I hear my wife fall. Lesson 1: A story begins with an inciting incident. Said incident is the beginning of a chain of events, none of which can happen without something to put the narrative into motion. So I begin with…
Read MoreThe Bare Bones of Storytelling
Here’s an old joke about a boy who didn’t speak for the first five years of his life. Then, one night at the dinner table, he says, “These mashed potatoes are lumpy.” His parents are amazed. His father says, “Son, you can speak!” The mother says, “Why did it take you so long to say…
Read MoreThe Hidden Object: A Prompt for Fiction Writers
This week before Christmas, I’m thinking about how, as a child, I couldn’t resist searching for presents my mother had hidden from me. I wish I could say I was a better kid who could resist that temptation, but, alas. . . . Of course, one of two things happened whenever I found a gift…
Read More