Flash Tip: Ups & downs
This week, I talk about the importance of ups and downs in your plot, for your protagonist and your reader! Don't take the "try-fail cycle" totally to heart, because ss in life: you win some; you lose some. I explain why your hero...
Slowing Down Action for Effect
The point that if you want your reader to really engage with your character in any kind of action scene, from running along a trail to the intense action of your climax, you need to slow down and do two things: show and embody.
Flash Tip: Typecasting Minor Characters
Today, I discuss the benefits of using types when you need to fill a minor character's role. Those characters who don't need much development, because they don't garner much ink on the page, beg the question, how do I make them...
Fooling Ourselves
I explain how writers can fool themselves into thinking they’re writing in scene, when they’re really writing summary. It's both simpler and trickier than you think. Ready to pull the wool from your eyes? Have a comment? Want...
Don’t Make the Reader Work
I discuss the problem with leaving your story in your head. It makes the reader do some of your work for you. How do you know when you've left too much off the page? And what can you do about it? Have a comment? Want to share...
Flash Tip: Broken Breaks
In this nuts & bolts tip, I show you how to correctly separate dialogue and “stage directions” into paragraphs. The funny thing about writing, is a story doesn't come out of our heads with the structure included. If you read...
Flash Tip: Nicey-nice
In this week's Flash Tip, Alida explains the role of Nice in our lives and in our fiction. Have thoughts on Nice? Minnesota or otherwise? In or out of fiction? Use the comments below or hop over to the Story Works Writers Facebook...
Flash Tip: Chapter Structure
In this week's Word Essential Flash Tip, Alida discusses the structure of chapters and how to ensure you've got rising action in each one. Hint: it looks like a ramp. Leave a comment below, or join the Story Works Writers...
Heart Your Narrator
Point of View is not all about your character. In fact, it's got more to do with your narrator. In this week's 60 Second Writing Tip, Alida discusses the importance of the narrator. You can expect more tips about the nitty...
Working with an Editor
This week, I sit down with Mat Morris, of Author Strong Podcast, to have a conversation about what an author should prepare before working with an editor--if anything. We have a great, open conversation, and you get to be the...
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.
