What does it mean to restore balance at the end of your book? Do you always have to wrap everything up with a bow? How do we feel about leaving things open-ended? And how can you restore balance without a happily ever after?
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about too much of a good thing. When do you tip the balance from just enough, to too much or too little?
How has Molly’s arc evolved over the course of her storytelling? And how does she craft agency into her own story? How many ways has she had to approach the same topics? And is it okay to leave the actual abuse off the page in an abuse narrative?
Why did Molly choose to write a memoir? When and how did her writing journey evolve from oral storytelling to MFA, to memoir? How do you turn your family into characters? And how important is it that they stay well rounded? We dive into antagonists, aliases, and the tricky line to walk when using your real life in your writing.
Show, don’t tell! Don’t think, feel, and wonder your way through a manuscript. Dig deep! Use that narrative exposition. Use your dialogue and action sequences. Write visually. Never use adverbs. Use the right word choice. Make your writing strong and not weak. Don’t use to be! Don’t use said! We tackle some of the most commonly touted writing rules and how they should actually apply rather than some of their more misunderstood applications.
I'm Alida
I help people express their gifts to the world.
I do not believe in formulas. I believe that the stories we are compelled to tell the world make demands on us, and it is our privilege to meet those demands in order to reach the most people in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
