Story Structure: the Build Up

Happy Friday! Welcome back to another installment of Truthful Storytelling’s story structure series (that sounds so dramatic and important). Last week, we looked at the Inciting Event and its role in a story. Today, we’re breaking down the Build Up, the story beat directly before the First Plot Point. Let’s get into this! Where Does

Story Structure: The Hook

Happy Friday, everyone! Today, I’m starting my new story structure series. I know there a dozens of resources out there on story structure, but I’m still excited to lend my perspective. To start, we’re going to examine the Hook, which is the first beat in traditional three act story structure (FYI, you will feel so

What the Mandalorian Teaches Us About Creating Tension

Okay, right off the bat: WARNING. THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SECOND SEASON OF THE MANDALORIAN, INCLUDING THE FINALE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. All righty, that’s over with. First of all, can we scream about this episode together in the comments? It wasn’t perfect (no story is, obviously), but DARN IT ALL it

How to Deepen Your World Building

For me, world building tends to be a double edged sword. It’s cool and fun, but also overwhelming. Especially when you have giants like Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson to compare yourself to. Unfortunately, with world building, you just kind of have to dive in and do it. It might take some noodling, but — trust

What Fictional Relationships Teach Us About Writing Romances

I know. We already did a relationships post. But we didn’t do one focusing specifically on ROMANCE. So now we’re going to. I’m not even sorry. Now, I write science fiction and fantasy, not romance, but I love a good romantic subplot. Emphasis on good. Because, let’s face it, a badly done or even *cough