Find the original /r/writing post here.

Today I realized I had been going over all this story structure theory for beginners and I hadn’t even touched on the most basic of basics, three act structure. I’m sure everyone here already feels like they have three act structure pretty well understood, but it never hurts to do a little refresher every now and again.

One of my favorite places to start with studying three act structure is the often trusty Wikipedia. Particularly, I like the plot line graph they use in the article, which includes a few extra points (pinch 1 and pinch 2) that aren’t often included in images illustrating three act structure.

Here’s a short blog article from Karen Woodward that talks about pinch points, with some examples from Star Wars. To quote it:

First Pinch Point:

The first pinch point reminds us of the…

Today, I have a special treat for you guys. Author, speaker, editor and long-time W.A.N.A. International Instructor Marcy Kennedy is here to talk about internal dialogue—when to use it, why we use it and how not to get all cray-cray with it.

Trust us. As editors, Marcy and I see it all. Often newer writers swing to one extreme or another. Either they stay SO much in a character’s head that we (the reader) are trapped in The Land of Nothing Happening or we’re never given any insight into the character’s inner thought life, leaving said character as interesting as a rice cake.

Like all things in fiction, balance is key. Marcy is here to work her magic and teach y’all how to use internal dialogue for max effect.

Take it away, Marcy!

Understanding why something is important to our writing lays the foundation for bettering our writing because it…

Now that my manuscript for The Final Ride is finished and awaiting my publisher’s approval, I have to turn my attention toward marketing the thing. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve read a gazillion books about marketing and promo, and it seems they all have the same things to say: have a blog (or not); work the social media; have an Amazon page, a Goodreads page,a Facebook author page; develop a tribe; join organizations. Find a niche. Don’t be spammy. Develop relationships.

Absolutely.

All that advice is great for developing your platform, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of marketing, these books seemed to fall short. There are helpful blogs out there–like Joanna Penn’s, The Creative Penn–where you can get some great ideas, but I need a strategy.

Let’s Get Visible, by David Gaughran helped me develop one. Gaughran goes into…