What are inciting incidents? Why do our stories and scenes need them? What are the elements of a solid inciting incident? This week, Story Grid Certified editor Leslie Watts discusses these story event catalysts in the context of the opening of Drew Horstman’s fantasy novel, Nicholas Crumb. The editorial mission encourages you to collect inciting incidents by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.
Ep. 131: Analyzing Your Scenes
Episode 50: Feather the Painter: Fantasy Critique
Episode Description
Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Mary Pat Lynch’s Feather the Painter, a fantasy novel. They discuss repetitive sentence structure, tension, sensory detail, dialect, and getting to know setting through your character’s point of view. For deeper exploration, check out the inline critique, below.
Listen Now
Show Notes
Join us at the Smarter Artist Summit March 30-31, 2016 in Austin, Texas.
Inline Critique
Episode 47: The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time: Fantasy/Science Fiction Critique
Episode Description
Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Luke Kondor’s The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time, a science fiction/fantasy novel. They mention echoes and strengthening your verbs. They discuss how the author builds sympathy by getting in the moment, and they debate which tense might be the best choice for this piece.
Listen Now
Show Notes
Visit the author's website.
Visit Leslie Writes.
Think more about past tense versus present and how it affects your story.
Inline Critique
Episode 46: The Bite of Rust Fantasy Critique
Episode Description
Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Simon Cantan’s The Bite of Rust, a fantasy novel. They discuss unusual protagonists, characters’ emotional reactions, and effective hooks and world building.