Author Archives: sdgibson

Replying to alternative solutions: three examples

Posted on 03 April 2018

In contrast, there are other proposed solutions aimed at reducing recidivism. Recent Princeton MPA graduate and government consultant Daniel Edelman writes in the Stanford Social Innovation Review that, “By addressing head-on the financial troubles of people leaving incarceration, we may … Continue reading →

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Self-analyzing

Posted on 28 March 2018

From James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Novel, here are some suggestions for critiquing your own work.

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The shrunken draft

Posted on 26 March 2018

I’m not sure where I first heard of it, but creating a “shrunken draft” can be a way to get to know a long draft. Ask yourself what specific element of fiction writing would you like the next draft of … Continue reading →

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Planning characters

Posted on 06 February 2018

One way to characterize is for your character to make a plan. The kind of plan the character makes, the level of formality with which it is made, how the character responds when things go according to their plan, how … Continue reading →

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Saving the Cat

Posted on 05 February 2018

Consider this structure for plotting from Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat and Publishingcrawl.com: Opening image An image/setting/concept that sets the stage for the story to come. Long ago, in a galaxy far away, a controlling government called the Empire takes control … Continue reading →

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2250 Words and metaphors

Posted on 26 January 2018

Consider these two additional pages from Kooser.

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2250 Details

Posted on 22 January 2018

We’ll talk about Ted Kooser’s discussion of details in class.

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