cause-and-effect

Of Memoir, Climax, and “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”…

Writing teacher and mentor, Clive Matson, always said that if a writer found her or himself wanting and/or needing to explain her or his story that the reader might gain the author’s intended message, the author needed to revise their story further.

Completing a manuscript requires more than simply writing the story, editing and revising it for clarity regarding grammar and typos, or even for development of plot.

Within each story or novel lives the narrative of that story, and how it came into being.

The author’s understanding and exploration of this process informs

Of Memoir, Climax, and “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”… Read More »

Of Revelation, Illusions and the Parallel Processes of Writing and Discovery…

Revelation plays an important role in constructing and/or assembling the middle section of a novel.

Revelation also encompasses the uncovering of truth of what has always stood present, but remained hidden by strong held illusions and beliefs.

Stories and novels stand upon revelations, ones that sustain the cause-and-effect events that comprise, most particularly, the plot of a novel and that lead towards crisis and onto climax.

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Of Sword Fights, The Himalayas, And so on… And so on…

Of Sword Fights, The Himalayas, And so on… And so on…

Posted by Anjuelle Floyd | Filed under Articles and Essays, anjuellefloyd.com

Have you ever watched a scene from a movie where two sword fighters are going at it?

And then they begin to move up the stairs, one sword fighter, moving in reverse up the incline of the steps, danger closing in, his back against the wall of conflict?

Remember how you felt? Your chest growing tighter, you engaged with what was happening rooting for one or the other swordsmen.

It goes the same with writing fiction. Read the rest of this entry…

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Tags: action, causal, cause-and-effect, conflict, dilemma, episodic, fiction, goal, Himalayas, Jeanette Winterson, novel, obstacles, plot, problem, question, rise and fall, roller coaster, sword fight, The Passion, writer

Of Sword Fights, The Himalayas, And so on… And so on… Read More »

Of Sword Fights, The Himalayas, And so on… And so on…

Have you ever watched a scene from a movie where two sword fighters are going at it?

And then they begin to move up the stairs, one sword fighter, moving in reverse up the incline of the steps, danger closing in, his back against the wall of conflict?

Remember how you felt? Your chest growing tighter, you engaged with what was happening rooting for one or the other swordsmen.

It goes the same with writing fiction.

Of Sword Fights, The Himalayas, And so on… And so on… Read More »

Of Pacing, Tension and the All-Important Artistry of Holding the Reader’s Attention…a

Author, Ken Follett, writes, “There is a rule which says that the story should turn about every four to six pages. A story turn is anything that changes the basic dramatic situation. It can change it in a little way or change it in a big way. …You can’t go longer than about six pages without a story turn, otherwise the reader will get bored. … Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, follows the same rule. In Dickens it’s the same; something happens about every four to six pages.”

The author of at least 20 novels, many of which are thrillers that have achieved international success, this list includes Follett’s well-received historical works, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, the latter of which made the New York Times Best Seller List.

Adapted for film, The Pillars of the Earth debuted July 23, 2010 on Starz as a mini-series.

When it comes to pacing, Follett’s admonishments are well taken. But what is he really talking about?

Pacing. Read the rest of this entry…

Of Pacing, Tension and the All-Important Artistry of Holding the Reader’s Attention…a Read More »

Motion, Identification and The Inertial Frame of Reference…

“Everything moves. Everything …motion is just a manifestation of going from one spot to another spot in space. When we are trying to understand motion all of the things that we measure from have to come from an inertial frame of reference. An inertial frame of reference is a reference frame that is moving at a constant speed and not changing direction.”

–Motion and Relativity, Dr. Charles Liu, Research Associate @ the Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History

The backbone of a story, particularly an entertaining and engaging one is motion, movement from one place in conscious and consensual reality to another.

Amplifying the reader’s engagement with the internal movement of the story, the emotional thread requires clarification of setting and displaying the subtle shifts that take place and occur in perception of setting reflective of one’s internal changes.

These changes are usually transmitted, or rather shown through the eyes and physical senses of the protagonist who is also the point-of-view character.

Motion, Identification and The Inertial Frame of Reference… Read More »