by Michael J. Totten | Oct 27, 2026 | Plot and Structure, Uncategorized
Story structure and plot are not the same thing. They’re like climate and weather, where climate is what you expect and weather is what you get. Plot is what happens in your particular story. Fido the dog steals kibble from Gaius the cat, then Gaius gets his revenge...
by Michael J. Totten | Oct 21, 2026 | Plot and Structure
The worst possible ending to your story is having your character wake up in bed and discover that it was all a dream. Yes, The Wizard of Oz ends this way, and yes, it’s a classic, but you won’t get away with it, but that’s okay because you didn’t want to anyway. The...
by Michael J. Totten | Sep 24, 2026 | Plot and Structure, Uncategorized
The worst possible place for a flashback is right at the beginning of a story, but I see this on the regular from beginning authors. I know what’s usually going on here. Most of the time, these early, misplaced flashbacks are there to illustrate a character’s...
by Michael J. Totten | Apr 17, 2025 | Plot and Structure
Beginning authors often bloat up their stories with scenes that they don’t need and that readers don’t enjoy, a problem that’s usually fatal if it occurs anywhere near the opening chapters. It’s not uncommon, when working as a developmental editor, for me to suggest...
by Michael J. Totten | Apr 10, 2025 | Plot and Structure
Scenes are the building blocks of novels, memoirs, and other types of narrative nonfiction. They’re like stories unto themselves. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They’re where things happen in real time in a specific place, where characters interact with...
