How to Write a Chapter

About How to Write a Chapter

September 4, 2019

Build up tension

10 Lessons

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The answer to this popular question is simple: one to two unicorns. 

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To write chapters that flow well: orient your writing around your protagonist's attempts to get what they want or avoid what they detest.

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Ideally, a chapter ends with a change — either for the protagonist or the reader.

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Start each scene by re-connecting the reader to the protagonist.

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Look at your novel's best scene: did you forget to include… THIS?

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Great scenes rely on two opposites: forward motion that keeps the protagonist working against the clock (plot) and sparks / pulses of character motivation that show the reader how the events are affecting their protagonist (narration). Here's how to blend them.

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Novels aren't only about the plot. Some of the most memorable passages in a novel come from its lyrical moments.

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A paradox: in order to keep raising the tension in a scene, you have to take breaks.

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What about novels where you simply MUST share a lot of information about the fictional world: historical fiction, fantasy, sci fi etc? Here's a more advanced technique for mingling drama and exposition. 

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Why people like your protagonist

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Here are two theories about human psychology: they are almost everything you need to create a great protagonist.

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If you notice you've let the reader drift away from the protagonist — use the next scene to deliver emergency first aid.

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How to make a bad character likeable? 

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