Let's write!

Though this comm was founded to encourage us to write regularly, there's also a side purpose of learning how to write. For that purpose, if I find some interesting stuff about writing, I'm going to post it here. They'll be tagged as "tips" so that they're easy to find and reference.

Mostly I'm getting these in my email from the Jerry Jenkins mailing list. His writing advice is awesome. Today's email was Dean Koontz's classic story structure - Jerry says that he'd published a couple of middling books, then read and studied this story structure, and then the books he produced using it were best-sellers.


Here’s Dean Koontz’s Classic Story Structure:

1. Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible.

The definition of “terrible trouble” differs depending on your genre. For a thriller it may mean your hero is hanging from his fingernails from a railroad trestle. For a cozy romance, it may mean your heroine must choose between two seemingly perfect suitors, each of whom harbors a dark secret.

2. Everything your character does to get out of the trouble makes it only worse.

The complications must be logical and grow increasingly bad until…

3. The lead character’s predicament appears hopeless.

4. Finally, because of what all that conflict has taught your character, he or she rises to the occasion, meets the challenge, battles out of the trouble, accomplishes the quest, or completes the journey.