#the first plot point

It’s that time of year when I seek out and enjoy every version of my favorite Christmas story of all time, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. The best version is the original. My dear friend (and one of my favorite indie authors) Aaron Volner is an amazing narrator. In 2023, he posted his reading of the original manuscript of A Christmas Carol on YouTube. It is read exactly as written by…

Our post today explores my favorite Christmas story of all time, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. My dear friend (and one of my favorite indie authors) Aaron Volner is an amazing narrator. Last year, he posted his incredible reading of the original manuscript of A Christmas Carol on YouTube. It is read exactly as written by Charles Dickens. Aaron’s interpretation of this classic is spot on.…

My dear friend (and one of my favorite indie authors) Aaron Volner is an amazing narrator. He has just posted on YouTube his incredible reading of the original manuscript of A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens. Aaron’s interpretation of this classic is spot on. He has gotten all the voices just right, from kindly Fred down to Tiny Tim. I think this is by far my favorite version of A…

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – a masterclass in structure #amwriting

Another Christmas has joined the Ghosts of Christmas Past—today is Boxing Day. Our post today explores my favorite Christmas story of all time, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. I have talked about this novella many times, as I think it is one of the most enduring stories in Western literature. The opening act of this tale is a masterclass in how to structure a story. I love stories of…

#NaNoWriMo prep part 6: How the Story Begins #amwriting

Today we’re continuing to prep for NaNoWriMo by thinking about the plot and the story our characters inhabit. In post one, we thought about what kind of project we intend to write—novels, short stories, poems, memoirs, personal essays, etc. Post two of this series introduced the protagonist(s), giving us an idea of who they are and what they do. Post three explored the setting, so we…

How the Written Universe Works: The Inciting Incident #amwriting

Whether we show it in the prologue or the opening chapter, the first event, the inciting incident, is the one that changes everything and launches the story. The universe that is our story begins expanding at that moment. The first incident has a domino effect. More events occur, pushing the protagonist out of his comfortable life and into danger. Fear of death, fear of loss, fear of financial…

#amwriting: revisiting the story arc

E.M. Forster was one of the great English novelists. He was also a short story writer, essayist, and wrote librettos. Forster was considered a master of creating ironic, well-plotted novels that examined class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. He really understood how to structure a novel or short story.

He has been quoted as saying that plot is the cause-and-effect…