For many years I wrote about fiction, story, belief, ordinary life, and the questions that shaped my work. More than two thousand essays remain here—not because every one represents my current thinking, but because together they tell the story of a writer learning over time.
Search for a subject, browse by month and year, or begin with the most recent writing below.
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The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.
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Sanity Snippet #3
In Sanity Snippet #2, we began our book development journey by considering the importance of a solid idea, what we referred to as the story kernel. This idea/kernel…
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The First Plot Point
The First Plot Point is the protagonist’s point of no return (aka, ‘crossing the threshold’). It is a major event that changes everything, especially for our protagonist. He…
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Sanity Snippet #2
I’ve been giving some thought to my Sanity Snippet project. I’ve gained some clarity and believe an alternative approach will provide more value to my beginning novelist readers.…
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The Inciting Incident & the Key Event
The second beat of Act I is the inciting incident. Good storytelling inextricably ties it to the key event. We are familiar with the word incite and how…
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Sanity Snippet #1
Your protagonist has an external problem. It’s one he’s had for a while, or it’s something that just hit him out of nowhere. I apologize to all females.…
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The Hook
Last week I provided an overview of story structure and the many models available to use in constructing a novel. I listed the components of the Three-Act structure…
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Sanity Snippets
Learning the writing craft is super important for everyone, especially the beginning novelist. Learning more about plot, characterization, dialogue, pacing, story structure, point of view, and on and…
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What is story structure? An introduction
Whether you are a plotter, a pantser, or a plantser, a basic understanding of story structure is important. Just like you shouldn’t start the construction of a house…
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What type writer do I want to be?
At the end of my last post I promised we would explore story structure. I’ve changed my mind. Since we’ve already talked about the ‘why’ of writing a…
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What is a novel?
In this post, I will attempt to define and contextualize the word ‘novel.’ Novel, story, narrative: what’s the difference? It’s probably unnecessary to consider this question because in…
Richard L. Fricks 