Darswords

Every story, and therefore every novel, has a protagonist: at least one. I wrote yesterday about troubles I’m having with a character trying to fight her way up, becoming more and more my novel’s dominant presence, and that now has me asking: how do you balance multiple protagonists?

Do you HAVE to balance them? Who says that when you have two or more characters linked with your narrator, they have to have equally distributed time in the spotlight?

MANAGING PAGE TIME

I love the term “screen time” in reference to television and film, so I figure for books, it makes sense to talk about a character’s page time (or even page presence, if you go in for alliteration.)

I’ve read posts and comments by fellow author-bloggers who sometimes get frightened by the thought of not keeping to a pattern where narration is concerned.

They worry that breaking an established…

As a newly converted Whovian I’ve been binging on “Doctor Who” lately on Netflix, and the show has really got me thinking about effective storytelling. You don’t have to be interested in Time Lords, Tardises, or sonic screwdrivers  to find this post of value, and I promise I won’t deliver any spoilers.

Doctor Who–in addition to great acting and compelling characters–is an all-around solid show, though it isn’t perfect. For some reason, it’s inspired in me a reflection on the nature of storytelling that I hope will be applicable to writers in any genre.

More than most other shows that I love, Doctor Who demonstrates the magic that can happen when we focus on the art of storytelling, and not just on the raw, plain details of the story.

Here are some storytelling tips I’ve picked up from the last of the Time Lords:

• ALWAYS INVOLVE “SMALL” OR “NORMAL” PEOPLE…