Category: The Trellis Method
-
Amplify Your Main Plot: How to Create Your Plot Map (Part 3)
During the development phase of your novel, it’s okay to let your characters have their way with the narrative, but then organize the storyline with a plot map.
-
Amplify Your Main Plot: Build a Story Spine for Each Story Plot to Enhance the Overall Narrative (Part 2)
As writers, we don’t dream of writing a simple narrative. Instead, we fantasize about creating a blockbuster like Toy Story 3. Together, let’s look at what one of the best scriptwriters in the film industry already figured out about story plot.
-
Amplify Your Main Plot: Turn Random Story Ideas into Subplots (Part 1)
Increase the value of random story ideas by turning them into subplots that amplify your main plot. Interestingly, all characters believe they are the hero of their own story. Weaving together their mini-stories into subplots can turn a so-so narrative into a great one. Here’s how you do that.
-
Story Structure: Erle Stanley Gardner’s Fiction Factory
Best known for his Perry Mason novels, television series, and movies, Erle Stanley Gardner built and ran his fiction factory from the 1920s until his death in 1968.
-
Story Structure: Exploring the Lester Dent Story Formula
In the 1930s, the Lester Dent story formula roared into use, but did it work?
-
Fiction Writers: Map Your Plot Structure and Weave Together Subplot Threads Like a Pro
Plot structure covers more than the main storyline. Bestselling authors often include one or more subplots. I’ll share my favorite subplot pattern and then show how you can use plot structure to make your writing life more interesting and fun.