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Step By StepTry it Risk-Free for 90 Days! Follow StoryWeaver's path of 200 interactive Story Cards from concept to completion of your novel or screenplay. Every step of the way you'll know what you need to do and get examples of how to do it, continually evovling, expanding and improving your story.You'll develop your story's world, who's in it, what happens to them, and what it all means.
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Author Archives: Melanie Anne Phillips
Characters Have Two Jobs
Characters have two jobs. One, they must respond as real people so we can identify with them. Two, they must function as part of your plot to they contribute to the message. Characters who don’t ring true drop your readers … Continue reading
Posted in Building Characters, Story Development
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Character Likes and Dislikes
“Snakes… Why did it have to be snakes….???” What a character likes and dislikes takes the curse of its larger than life stature. Whether you are writing a novel, play, screenplay, or teleplay, your characters loom in the hearts and … Continue reading
Posted in Characters
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Free Storytelling Tips eBook
Here’s this week’s free eBook from Storymind. Download in PDF and discover 50 tips, tricks, and techniques to make your storytelling pop!
Posted in Announcements
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How to Create Archetypal Characters
Archetypal characters have a bad name. Many writers think such characters are two-dimensional stick figures that come off more like plot robots than real people. But the truth is that archetypes represent essential human qualities that need to be explored … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Story Development
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Plot Points vs. Plot Events
Some time ago I wrote an article explaining how plot wasn’t the order in which events appeared in a story, but the order in which they happened to the characters. Still, how you reveal what happened to the characters can … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
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Characters: What’s In A Name?
What’s in a name? Choosing names for your characters can be perfunctory or can provide your readers or audience with insight into your characters’ natures, add humor or surprise, or even at the very least break out of ordinary monikers … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
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Change is Good (or maybe bad)
At the core of a story’s message is a very simple issue – whether the author is telling us it is better to be like the main character or not. This is usually thought of as the moral of the story and … Continue reading
Posted in Story Structure
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Letting Go of Characters
Over the course of the story, your reader/audience has come to know your characters and to feel for them. The story doesn’t end when your characters and their relationships reach a climax. Rather, the reader/audience will want to know the … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
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Story Structure Seen As War
Imagine a story’s structure as a war and the Main Character as a soldier making his way across the field of battle. In your mind’s eye, you likely see they whole scene spread out in front of you, as if … Continue reading
Posted in Creative Writing
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Throughlines – And How to Use Them!
Some time ago I wrote an article that described the difference between the two basic forms of story structure with the following phrase: You spin a tale, but you weave a story. The common expression “spinning a yarn” conjures up … Continue reading
Posted in Story Development
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