Poetry and science do not seem that different. They are both a way of looking at the world without preconceptions and trying to catch something vital about it as simply as possible.
The voice is what beckons the reader to curl up with a book and whispers, “Pay attention. I’m going to tell you a story.”
I literally skim through the work... {to} create an outline of all the major plot points by chapter for the novel... It really does force you to ignore character, dialogue, description and boil the story down to its plot skeleton core... pacing and story arc.
Most genres carry a target audience with them like a parade float... there’s an ambiance that readers expect when they enter that world. As a novelist, you violate that expectation at your own peril.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl who always wore a red riding hood. . . .”
{T}ell it as a spy thriller... as a historical romance... as a deep-space science fiction.
IDENTIFY THE SENSATION AND EXPERIENCE YOU WANT TO EVOKE IN YOUR READER – AND THEN MAKE SURE YOU’RE EVOKING IT.
I cannot possibly stress this enough. We read novels to have an EXPERIENCE.
A good story should always be raising questions — not asking them directly, but instead forcing the reader to ask them. “Wait, what’s that weird symbol they keep seeing on the walls? What was that sound? Something’s up with that top hat-wearing fox that keeps following them, too. Where the crap are they going?” This is why too much exposition is a story-squasher
http://www.sfwa.org/2011/06/key-conditions-for-suspense-part-27-patterns-for-resolution-element-4-6-the-series-wrap-up/
it’s important to know what the ultimate obstacle to victory is. Is it cowardice, knowledge, power? Once we know this, it’s easier to write the resolution because this time... the hero removes that last obstacle and vanquishes the opposition.
{Or}... Does it feel right to test your hero in the ending? Is that the type of story you’re writing?
Adding a love interest is an easy way to add a bit of extra suspense, drama & conflict, to darken the dark point and sweeten the resolution of the main plot.
Readers love it when some early, trivial detail plays a part in the finale.
The carefully-constructed goals you have concocted for your character are, sadly, meaningless… UNLESS they are paired with a compelling antagonist...
goal + obstacle => empathy
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
At the beginning of your novel, how does your protagonist understand himself? What defines him? What rules or code guide him? What assumptions are givens? What’s home base? Who’s on his side? In whose love is he secure? ...
At the end of your novel, how has the answer changed to any of the questions above? What happens to change that opinion? Add it.
We’re biologically geared to take notice of things in motion. Anything that moves of its own volition is either potential food or a potential threat... So instead of having your character “sitting” in a perfectly still forest, describe the trees swaying in a soft breeze... or show the squirrels racing up the boles of pine trees, or tell of the sound of a branch snapping, which might portend danger.
One writing exercise that I find that works well for the opening of tale is to describe the scene using only active verbs (no was, or were, or anything that shows a static setting.)
