Telling and Selling Stories the Video Game Way | Write Lara Write

Telling and Selling Stories the Video Game Way

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Telling and Selling Stories the Video Game Way | Write Lara Write

Character + Conflict

If you follow me on Twitter, then you’ll get daily doses of writing and editing tips with an occasional sprinkling of bad jokes and fangirl gushing over Clark Gregg or Nathan Fillion (unless you follow me @LaraEdits, which is my new account for editing tips). You may have seen this tweet:

Drama, that magic stuff that keeps us reading, requires CHARACTER (protagonist, w/ goals) and CONFLICT (obstacles, stakes). #writingtips — Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014

That is dramatic storytelling at it’s very simplest. You can remember it in terms of 2, 3, or 4, depending on whichever is easiest for you:

  • Character + Conflict
  • Character + Goal + Obstacles
  • Character + Goal + Obstacles + Stakes

Empathetic characters with goals

Characters have to want something, otherwise they just sit around eating Fritos in their boxer briefs in their parents’ basement. That isn’t a story. Continue reading →

Twitter Tuesday #3.2

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Twitter Tuesday is a new feature on my blog. The first Tuesday of the month, I include all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets from the “field.” Read Twitter Tuesday 1 here.

Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops! 

I was pretty active on Twitter in May, so I’m posting Twitter Tuesday #3 in two installments. Here are the tweets & retweets from May 16th–June 2nd.

May

https://twitter.com/larathelark/status/473678300330856448[/embedhttps://twitter.com/larathelark/status/473683084819570688

Retweets

https://twitter.com/cameronMstewart/status/471784196923731968

Twitter Tuesday #3.1

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Twitter Tuesday is a new feature on my blog. The first Tuesday of the month, I include all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets from the “field.” Read Twitter Tuesday 1 here.

Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops! 

I was pretty active on Twitter in May, so I’ll be posting Twitter Tuesday #3 in two installments. Here are the tweets & retweets from May 1st–15th

May

Retweets

 

New Giveaway—Query Workshops

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querylara

EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 15th!

Hopefully by now you know to follow me on Twitter for editing giveaways. If not, follow me @larathelark!

Inspired by the brave writers who participated in #QueryKombat and the Query Shark herself Janet Reid, I’ve decided to start giving away monthly Query Critiques on my blog. To enter for June 2014, email your query to query lara at icloud dot com. Do not send it as an attachment. Post it into the email directly. Subject line: June 2014 Query Submission.

By emailing me your query with the subject “June 2014 Query Submission,” you agree that your query may be posted and critiqued, publicly, on my blog and be included in the archives as long as the blog shall live. Your MS title will be included in the public critique, but your name and contact information will be redacted.

I’m accepting queries without restriction through midnight June 15th, 2014. I’ll open up July queries after I post the first critique and more detailed instructions for following months.

If your query is not chosen for June, yours will be added automatically in the July pile. They will be chosen at random. Do not resubmit unless you have edited your query. As the months progress, more queries will be added to the pile, so you’ll have better chances earlier than if you wait. I’m not an agent, I’m a freelance editor, so I accept queries for manuscripts that aren’t finished.

Don’t want your query publicly critiqued? For $35 I’ll personally, privately critique your query letter. Email me your query (again, not as an attachment) with the subject line “$35 Query Critique.” I’ll email you with information on sending me payment, and then I’ll edit once I receive said payment.

I look forward to getting your queries!

LW