Every genre needs "stakes."
The term often brings action and thriller books to mind, so developing the stakes in "quieter" genres such as literary fiction and memoir can get overlooked.
Stakes simply refer to what is at risk for the protagonist. Any story event immediately becomes more riveting to readers when the stakes are on the page.
So how do writers develop literary stakes on the page?
WHAT IS THE CLIMACTIC MOMENT?
Your book will have many pivotal moments, big and small, but “the Climactic Moment” refers to an archetypal plot point leveraged in many popular books.
The Climactic Moment is one of five major archetypal turning points that include:
This post breaks down three adages about “good” writing, and provides an exercise to supercharge your writing, at any phase!
1. Good writing is focused writing.
This universal truth goes beyond personal preferences of genre, voice, tone, and style.
Focused sentences control story time and remain in a character’s point of view. Control of story time includes remaining “in scene,” as well as artfully transitioning in and out of scene.
Read more...Dialogue is a “craft” element (#4 on the Phases to Building a Book pyramid) necessary in writing novel or memoir.
Use of dialogue deepens and distinguishes character, and delivers important story information.
However, revising craft elements like dialogue without first honing story fundamentals (#2) and narrative technique (#3) can leave writers endlessly word-smithing.
How and where you use dialogue is important to the overall shape and pacing of your book.
Read more...Q: What is narrative technique?
A: Different writing techniques that combine to create a narrative.
Some of the most common narrative techniques in novels and memoirs are:
- Scene
- Narrative Exposition (Narration)
- Summary
- Reflection
