Notes from the Story Desk is where I write about fiction, structure, mystery, revision, storycoaching, and the making of the Boaz novels.
Some notes will be for readers who want a glimpse behind the stories. Others will be for beginning novelists trying to understand how a manuscript works beneath the surface.
The common thread is story: how stories are built, how scenes earn their place, how characters change, how mysteries create pressure, and how fiction can reveal what ordinary explanation often misses.
This is not a general journal and not a personal diary. It is a working desk — a place for thoughts on story, structure, and the craft of making fiction hold together.
Begin with the latest notes below.
Latest Notes
The Story Desk Is Moving
I will no longer be publishing new work at Notes from the Story Desk. My writing continues at The Pencil-Driven Life, where I am bringing together my novels, reflections, writing practice, Story Coaching, and the continuing work of learning to live with greater honesty and attention. You can find me here: http://www.thepencildrivenlife.com. Thank you for…
The Story Beneath the Story
People sometimes ask why I keep returning to Boaz. After all, there are countless small towns across America. Why this one? The easy answer is that Boaz is familiar. I know its streets, its schools, its churches, its neighborhoods, and the rhythms of everyday life. But familiarity has never been enough reason to write a…
The Character Who Wants Nothing Is Difficult to Follow
One of the most common problems in a beginning novel has nothing to do with grammar, dialogue, or point of view. The problem is often simpler than that: the main character does not seem to want anything. The writer may know the character’s history, personality, fears, family, occupation, and childhood. The character may even be…
The Pressure of Secrets in the Boaz Novels
If you want to understand the Boaz novels, pay attention to what people do with secrets. Not only the secrets themselves. What matters most is the pressure they create. That is one of the forces moving through The Boaz Secrets. A secret in that world is not simply hidden information waiting to be revealed near…
Why Outside Eyes Can See the Missing Story Pressure
A novelist can be too close to the story to see what is missing. That is not a weakness. It is part of the work. When you have lived with a story for months or years, you know more than the page knows. You know what the character meant to say. You know why the…
Richard L. Fricks 