WIP Story development, part 2

Last week, I talked about getting my plot outline up to a sketchy 1200 words. Usually, my plot outlines start off fairly specific (“Kayla is in the library with Harkawn, reviewing past Dark Lord grimoires. She is annoyed – what good is summoning a horde of mosquitoes?

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Filing off the Serial Numbers

Every so often, a new, old, or would-be writer reads a story that grabs their imagination and won’t let go. Many, many of these writers attempt to exorcise the demon by writing fanfiction, some successfully, some not. Those who are successful eventually face a choice: they can

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Driven vs. Reluctant Heroes

There’s an adage about plot, probably originating in something John Gardner once said, to the effect that there are only two plots: either someone leaves on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. I think the more useful way of looking at this part of the

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