Whether you are writing a piece of fiction or planning a role-playing game, world building is a crucial aspect of the story you are building, especially if you deal with science-fiction and fantasy. I’ve written a lot about world building before (which you can read about here and here) but I’ve never addressed the particulars… Read More Building a world
Writing unforgettable scenes The scene is the single most important thing to master in storytelling. Yes, you have to create vivid, unique and unforgettable characters, and yes, you have to master structure to be able to be able to weave a story that makes any sort of sense, but the bottom line is, if you… Read More Remember the part when…?
The art of evocative description Descriptions are an integral part of any story. They help the reader picture the characters and settings in their minds. But descriptions are a sensitive area, and they are probably the part that is easiest to do very badly. Some descriptions go on forever, others are muddled, and we read… Read More It’s big, and uh… green
The balance between action and exposition I know I promised that this post would be about description, but before I talk about how to make an efficient description, I thought I needed to establish WHEN descriptions might be useful. So today, we’re going to address one of the oldest, most well-known rules of good writing:… Read More Show and tell
The bare bones of the three-act structure For this first post of 2013, I thought it would be good to get back to the basics while pursuing in my series of posts to better understand what makes a good scene. First, a disclaimer. This is by NO MEANS a comprehensive study of structure. When I’m… Read More Laying the foundation
About conflict I know I have promised a lot of posts in my past posts… about scenes, creature building, priorities, writer’s block… and I will get to them. But as I was writing about the scene, I realize how much information about storytelling needs to be understood just to grasp the notions I am trying… Read More The uncomfort zone
The many pitfalls in bringing a long-term project to an end This post is a response to a special request. If you would like to special request a post on a particular subject, please go to icecreamforzombies.tumblr.com and click on “Got a question about writing?” in red under the page’s subtitle, and ask your question.… Read More Why can’t I finish my story?
Choosing the right pace This post is a response to a special request. If you would like to special request a post on a particular subject, please click on “Got a question about writing?” in red under the page’s subtitle, and ask your question. All special requests will be treated in the order in which… Read More Story units
Nathan Caro Frechette's Ice Cream for Zombies 