At the Story Fortress, we believe you can learn something from every story. Whether its characters are flawless, the plot is boring, or its the best-written mystery of all time, we believe that you can become a better writer through analyzing any story — and that’s what we’re here to help you with. From the…
Okay, so you’re just about to write your climax. Or your writing the lead up to your shocking plot twist. Or you’re just pages away from the moment that your protagonist’s world will crash around him. But you can’t quite get there yet. It’s too soon after the last plot point, or you feel as…
Imagine you just started a story, and everything is going perfectly. Your characters are cooperating, the plot is entertaining, and you can’t wait to continue writing. The only problem? The theme you chose to convey in your story is complicated, and you have a word limit. There are so many aspects of your theme you…
As Sophia pointed out in last week’s article, a little complexity goes a long way, especially as far as characters and relationships go. But how does complexity apply to plot? Plenty of mysteries feature confusing plots and connections, or, worse, complexity that is completely unnecessary. How can we balance complexity without making it overdone? How…
Some stories just stick. You know the ones I’m talking about. The kind of stories that take up a lot of space in your brain. The stories that spark a long, meaningful discussion with your parent or friend. The stories that are just complex enough to make you think. However, without complexity, most books simply…
As Sophia pointed out a few months ago, first impressions are a big deal — especially for readers. Readers categorize characters by their first few lines, often causing a reader to immediately decide whether they like a character, relate to them, or resent them. And that impression can last for the rest of your work. …
Can you think of a book or movie that may have had a good plot and well-built characters, but ultimately didn’t capture your interest? Maybe there were too many cliches, or you were too burnt out on stories from that genre, or maybe, the writer just wasn’t doing a good job of holding your attention….
Climaxes mean a lot more than you think. Just a few minutes of screentime or chapters in a book can completely change how viewers (or readers) consider the value of a story. And if they’re done well, a climax can elevate a rather boring plotline to become an incredibly valuable story. Last week we looked…
Love it or hate it, Star Wars is undeniably a big part of our culture. The original trilogy sent shockwaves through the storytelling industry that are still reverberating today, nearly half a century later. So when LucasFilm announced that, after 42 years of movies, prequels, and sequels, they were finally closing the nine-part Skywalker movie…
What’s the last story that made you laugh? And I don’t just mean a little chuckle. I mean a bursting, out loud laughter. What was the last story to give you that breathless feeling? It’s a writer’s dream to provoke laughter like that, but it can be difficult. Some humor doesn’t translate well to the…
They say a picture paints a thousand words. But not all writers can paint. And we as writers miss out when we can’t include them in our novels. Art can have a truly profound effect on emotions, actions, and even how we understand complicated concepts — results most writers have to find a substitute for….