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Contents

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: Getting Started: The Basics of Story 5 Chapter 1: Taking Journeys into the Imagination 7 Looking Closer at the Big Three Genres 8 Imagining possible worlds - Sci-fi 8 Imagining wondrous worlds - Fantasy 9 Imagining fearful worlds - Horror 10 Creating Characters 11 Pursuing Writerly Success 12 Revising your words 12 Turning to pros for help 12 Focusing on the three Ps 13 Setting the right goals for you 14 Making the Most of This Book 15 Chapter 2: Creating Characters 19 Focusing on Your Characters' Wants 20 Looking outside - External goals 21 Reflecting inward - Internal needs 21 Looking a bit deeper - Hidden desires 22 Introducing the Cast of Characters 22 Leading the way - Protagonists 23 Standing in the way - Antagonists 25 Introducing supporting characters 26 Managing your supporting cast - Tips and tricks 29 From Whose Eyes? Choosing Point of View 29 First person 30 Third-person limited 31 Third-person omniscient 31 Third-person objective 32 Telling "Telling Details" 33 Zeroing in on appearance 34 Digging into a character's psychology 34 Trusting an inner circle 35 You Don't Say? Using Dialogue 36 Recognizing the types of dialogue 36 Keeping track of dialogue tags 38 Writing script dialogue 39 Chapter 3: Laying the Foundation - The Power of Plot 41 Engineering Great Drama 42 Examining values 44 Creating compelling conflict 44 Starting with Freytag 46 Finding the tension 48 Considering character arcs 51 Keeping up the pace 52 Building Story Structure 54 Understanding scenes 54 Using scene sequels - Action/reaction 56 Adding variety to your scenes 57 Thinking bigger - Sequences 59 Examining Key Elements of Plot 60 Beginning with a bang 60 Maintaining audience interest - Magical middles 62 Fulfilling story promises - Knockout climaxes 63 Finishing strong - Satisfying endings 64 Chapter 4: Crafting Many Worlds, Many Media 65 Writing Prose - An Oldie But a Goodie 65 Novels 66 Novellas 67 Short stories 68 Writing for Screens Both Big and Small - Scripts 69 Film 69 TV 71 Podcasts 72 Plays 73 Comics 74 Inviting Audiences to Co-create - Interactive Stories 74 Video games 75 Tabletop games 75 Immersive experiences 76 Part 2: Worldbuilding: Journeys to Other Worlds 79 Chapter 5: Building a World Like No Other 81 Creating Worlds Worth Exploring 82 Making your place interesting 82 Knowing how your world works 83 This place is awesome! - Your pitch 84 Building Worlds for Conflict 87 Finding a problem around every corner 87 Creating characters from conflict 89 Focusing on What's Important - The Iceberg Rule 89 Show the characters and conflicts 89 Don't show everything 90 Chapter 6: Letting Your Research and Imagination Run Wild 93 Start with Earth: Inspiration and Adaptation 94 Tapping into the power of piggybacking 94 Controlling cognitive dissonance 97 Using Research to Balance Science and Fiction 98 Striving for accuracy 99 Casting a wide net when researching 100 Heading straight to the sources 102 Chapter 7: Showing the Explosion: Exposition That Thrills! 105 Showing Your World at Work 106 Making memorable first impressions 106 Letting actions bring the world to life 107 Relying on Narrative Exposition: Stories That Explain and Entrance 108 Telling a tale within a tale 108 Writing exposition that causes conflict 109 Getting to the point with point of view 110 Trusting and Provoking Your Reader 112 Solving a puzzle: 1+1 112 Giving characters revelatory actions 112 Sending systemic signals 113 Storytelling at Every Level of Engagement 113 Level 1: Bold strokes 114 Level 2: Fine nuances 114 Level 3: Hidden depths 114 Level 4: Beyond the text 115 Putting the levels all together 115 Chapter 8: This Planet Will Eat You: Worlds Are Characters, Too 117 Recognizing That Worlds Want Something 118 Reacting to your characters 118 Maintaining ecosystems and equilibrium 118 Upholding the societal status quo 119 Wanting equilibrium 121 Building Spaces and Places for Drama 122 Making maps memorable 122 Navigating story spaces 123 Part 3: Science Fiction: Journeys into the Future 129 Chapter 9: Answering "What If?" 131 Asking Big Questions 131 Looking closer at your questions 132 Provoking curiosity and imagination 133 Answering questions with characters 134 Inventing the Big New Thing 135 Understanding what the Big New Thing is 135 Distinguishing between hard and soft sci-fi 137 Asking Key Questions about Your Sci-Fi Story 138 Chapter 10: A Spaceship for Every Occasion, an Occasion for Every Spaceship 139 Voyaging Far from Home: Vessels for Isolation and Adventure 140 Launching the ship 140 Meeting the crew 142 Completing the mission 143 The Physics and Drama of Space Travel 144 Obeying the speed of light 144 Traveling through space faster than light 147 Considering other speculative technologies 148 1, 2, 3, 4 - I Declare a Space War! 151 War as storytelling by other means 151 Activating weapons of war 152 Deploying systems of defense 154 Chapter 11: Encountering Aliens That Audiences Want to Know, Love, and Fear 157 Making Sense of Alien Metaphors 158 Discovering differences 158 Alienating audiences 160 Relating aliens to your audience 161 Playing Their Part: Alien Dramatics 162 Alien enemies 163 Alien protagonists 163 Alien allies and rivals 164 Alien mysteries 164 Alien obstacles 165 Creating Alien Emotions 166 Rousing wonder - Sublime aliens 166 Provoking revulsion - Grotesque aliens 166 Creating unease - Uncanny aliens 167 Inspiring hope - Power fantasy aliens 167 Producing smiles - Adorable aliens 167 Introducing audiences to your aliens 168 Chapter 12: It's Alive! Or Is It? - Imagining Robots and Artificial Intelligence 171 Creating Artificial Life 172 Asking questions of meaning 172 Contemplating questions of responsibility 176 Treating Artificial Life as Characters 178 Automated roles 178 Computers are (sometimes) people too 181 Building Your Own Beings 182 Determining its purpose 182 Figuring out what it thinks about that purpose 182 Finding similarities and differences between creators and their creations 183 Establishing its range of emotion 183 Identifying the limits it operates under 184 Recognizing society's strong feelings about it 184 Chapter 13: Constructing Planetary Plots and Earth-Changing Stories 185 Exploring Other Earths 185 Remembering a different past 186 Thinking about the near now 187 Worrying about the looming future 188 Voyaging to a whole new world 189 Imagining a different future 190 Traveling through time 191 Making Everything Worse (or Better) 192 Envisioning your story - Dystopian fears and utopian hopes 192 Punks, punks, punks! Writing sci-fi with attitude 194 Using steam, sun, and cells 196 Part 4: Fantasy: Journeys into the Imagination 197 Chapter 14: Bringing Wonder to Your Story 199 Creating Wonder 200 Understanding the meaning of wonder 200 Most wonderful yet believable 201 Matching magic to the mundane 203 Using the MMMaM Index of Wonder 203 Going High to Low with Fantasy 205 Distinguishing between high and low 205 Employing fantastic elements 206 Choosing a Fantastical Point of View 208 Portal - Moving from the real world to a magical world 208 Immersive - Inhabiting the magical world 209 Intrusive - Moving the magical world into the real world 211 Chapter 15: Worldbuilding on the Shoulders of Giants, Faeries, Dragons, and Hobbits 213 Adapting Myth and Legend 214 Making myths and faerie tales your own 214 Start with Middle Earth? Not Exactly 218 Genre-defining characters and creatures - Wizards, hobbits, and elves, oh my! 219 Getting indulgent with worldbuilding 221 Generating deep history and wondrous geography 221 The now-classic quest narrative 222 Understanding Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons 224 Losing hit points and gaining character levels in games 224 Starting with the Forgotten Realms 225 Making Deep History in Record Time 226 Basing your story in reality 226 Making your own myths 227 Identifying different people and places 227 Enhancing conflict 228 Chapter 16: Conjuring Story Magic 229 Grasping the Role of Magic in Storytelling 229 Taking the Reader on a Magical Journey 230 Making Magic Dramatic (in Every Sense of the Word!) 231 Heightening dramatic stakes with magic 232 Being aware of magic's dramatic limitations 232 Setting the Rules and Costs of Magic 233 Playing by the rules 234 Sticking to the rules of magic in video and role-playing games 234 Assigning costs to your story's magic - Precious Things 235 Forging Enchanting Artifacts and Objects - Items Designed for Magic 236 Magic items as objects of desire 237 Magic items as character traits 238 Magic items as obstacles 238 Magic items as characters 239 Magic items as worldbuilding elements 240 Chapter 17: Forming Really Fantastic (and Fantastically Real) Monsters 241 Understanding What Monsters Are 241 What makes a monster a monster 242 Monsters serve the story 242 Making Monsters 244 Making your monster realistic or fantastic 246 Defining your monster's characteristics 246 Part 5: Horror: Journeys into Fear 253 Chapter 18: Creating Dread, Fear, and Terror 255 Imagining the Worst about Everything 256 Equipping your toolchest - The horror writer's tools 256 A formula for fear 258 Providing climax and catharsis 260 Feeling Fearful Feels 261 Fear and worry 261 Pity and sorrow 262 Disgust and revulsion 262 Disoriented and discombobulated 263 Fascination and wonder 263 Triumph and relief 264 Schadenfreude 265 Identifying Sources of Horror 266 Gothic 266 Spiritual 266 Monstrous 267 Cosmic 267 Homicidal 267 Societal 268 Environmental 268 The unexplained 268 Chapter 19: Fashioning Fearful Plots and Sinister Scenes 271 Who Goes There? Characters Who Journey into Darkness 271 Controlling knowledge through point of view 272 Creating creepy and creeped-out characters 273 Plotting Your Host of Horrors 276 The discovery plot - Unearthing dread secrets 277 The overreach plot - One step too far 277 The trespass plot - You shouldn't be here 278 The pursuit plot - The hunt is on 278 The contest plot - Facing your fears 279 The breakdown plot - It's all gone to hell 279 The weird plot - What the heck is that? 280 Creating Fear with Narrative Flow 280 Mixing and matching flows 281 Shifting the narrative - Thrilling and chilling revelations 283 Chapter 20: Shaping Your Scares - Menacing Monsters and Human Horrors 287 Mixing Up Your Monsters 288 Threatening 288 Disgusting 289 Humanish 289 Animalistic 290 Heightened 291 Unnatural 291 Corrupting 291 Captivating 292 Making Metaphors Monstrous 292 Societal flaws personified 293 Voice for the voiceless 293 Personal flaws made manifest 294 Deep difficulties turned terrifying 294 Universal experiences mutated 294 Positive characteristics taken too far 295 Interpreting the Classics 295 Aliens and cosmic entities 295 Cryptids and creatures 296 Demonic and supernatural threats 296 Experiments and evil scientists 297 Ghosts and evil spirits 297 Golems and constructs 298 Lycanthropes and shapeshifters 298 Vampires and the undead 299 Hunting Down Homicidal Humans 299 Confronting all too natural-born killers 300 Solving dramatic and mysterious murders 300 Exposing deadly cults 301 Winning the duel of wits 302 Chapter 21: Lurking in Every Shadow: Where Horror Resides 305 Constructing Environments That Raise Dread 306 Isolated or inaccessible 306 Intimidating and foreboding 307 Uncanny and unsettling 308 Assembling Haunted Houses and Other Lairs of Fear 309 Recognizing the types of haunted houses - What lies within 309 Welcome, foolish mortal 311 Tapping into what came before 311 Sizing up the scene 312 A ghost will follow you home 313 Part 6: The Journey from Writing to Publication 315 Chapter 22: Revising and Editing Like a Pro 317 Creating a Revision Plan 318 Putting on your reader's cap 318 Remaking the outline 319 Going high tech 320 Going low tech 320 Answering first-draft questions 321 Using second opinions 322 Revising First, Editing Later 322 Figuring out who this story really is about 322 Discovering what this story really is about 323 Focusing on Theme - It Isn't Just for Eighth-Grade Book Reports 324 Understanding what theme is 324 Finding an elusive theme 325 Revising for theme 326 Buffing, Polishing, and Shining - The Final Edit 328 Trusting your ears 328 Editing your way to a better story 328 Chapter 23: Getting Second Opinions: Editors, Experts, and Sensitivity Readers 331 Receiving Good Story Feedback 332 Making the most of a critique group 332 Cultivate a golden reader 335 Hiring freelance editors 335 Supporting Your Story with Expert Help 337 Talking to subject matter experts 338 Tapping into the universe of universities 339 Using sensitivity readers 339 Using cultural consultants 341 Looking beyond your own experiences 341 Chapter 24: The Three Ps: Publication, Pitching, and Promotion 343 Teaming Up: Agents, Editors, and Producers 343 Recognizing what an agent does 344 Figuring out whether you need an agent 344 Landing an agent: The how and where 345 Pitching Like a Pro 347 Crafting the query 347 Breaking down the three-floor elevator pitch 348 Identifying the challenge before you 349 Going It Alone: A Self-Publishing Success Plan 350 Answering whether you can really do it all 351 Succeeding in self-publishing 351 Putting the crowd to work for you 352 Promoting You and Your Work - Making the Most of Marketing 353 Standing high on a platform 354 Making the most of conferences 356 Part 7: The Part of Tens 357 Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Jump-Start a Stalled Story 359 Extra, Extra - Reading Story Headlines 360 Taking a Ride on the PPE Story Machine 360 Writing to Free Up Your Blocks 361 Noodling in Notebooks 361 Taking a Field Trip 362 Figuring Out What the Story Is 363 Answering the Great "What If?" 363 Blending, Stirring, and Mixing 364 Beginning with an Idea 364 Using Someone Else's Words 365 Chapter 26: Ten Common Pitfalls in Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror 367 Putting Surface before Substance 368 Overrelying on Coincidence 368 Worldbuilding with Endless Details 368 Not Reading Enough 369 Reusing Aliens/Werewolves/Elves 370 Embracing a Richer Worldview 370 Following Trends Too Closely 371 Overusing Fantastic Language 371 Forgetting the Promise of the Genre 372 Utilizing Clichés 372 Chapter 27: Ten Popular Story Modes 375 Danger at Every Step - The Adventure Story 376 "It's the End!" - The Apocalyptic Story 376 Gags, Sketches, and Snark - The Comedy Story 377 Capers, Cons, and Heists - The Crime Story 378 Doom and Gloom - The Dark Story 379 The Grandest of Scales - The Epic Story 380 The Power of the Past - The Historical Story 381 Fighting on the Frontlines - The Military Story 382 Sleuthing Out the Truth - The Mystery Story 383 The Heart of the Matter - The Romance Story 384 Index 385

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