Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 6
One of the most powerful ways to create microtension is through contradictions between a character’s internal state and the setting...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 6 appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/03/10/using-contradictions-to-create-microtension-part-6/
#Fiction #NailingSceneStructure #NovelStructure #microtension #setting
Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 5
We’ve been looking at how to craft powerful mictotension (a must in fiction!) in these last few posts. In this...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 5 appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/03/06/33567/
Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 4
When writers think about tension in action, they often focus on movement—what physically happens in a scene. That can create...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 4 appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/03/02/using-contradictions-to-create-masterful-microtension-part-4/
Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 3
We’re continuing our look at how to use contradictions to create masterful microtension in our fiction. In this post, we’ll...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 3 appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/02/23/using-contradictions-to-create-masterful-microtension-part-3/
Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 2
We’re continuing our look at microtension in fiction and how to use contradictions to craft it masterfully (click here to...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 2 appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/02/16/using-contradictions-to-create-masterful-microtension-part-2/
Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension
I can’t say this enough: masterful microtension in fiction, on every page, is what turns a good novel (or short...
The post Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2026/02/10/using-contradictions-to-create-masterful-microtension/
8 Tips for Masterful Scene Revision
Scene revision is the most important process of taking a manuscript from good to great. It’s the moment when a...
The post 8 Tips for Masterful Scene Revision appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/12/29/8-tips-for-masterful-scene-revision/
Microtension – A MUST in Your Fiction
Microtension. What is it? Just what the word implies: tension in story on a micro or small level. The word...
The post Microtension – A MUST in Your Fiction appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/11/17/microtension-a-must-in-your-fiction/
Insights into the Shape of a Scene
Novels are made up of scenes—obviously. Like a string of pearls on a necklace, each scene must be complete, presenting...
The post Insights into the Shape of a Scene appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/11/12/insights-into-the-shape-of-a-scene/
#Fiction #NailingSceneStructure #NovelStructure #anchorpoints #Beats
The Art of Crafting Real Relationships between Characters
Stories live and breathe through relationships (just as our own lives do). Every memorable tale—whether it’s a sweeping epic, a...
The post The Art of Crafting Real Relationships between Characters appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/10/25/the-art-of-crafting-real-relationships-between-characters/
The Intersection of Characters and Setting
Characters and setting are inseparable partners in storytelling. Each depends on the other to give a story its emotional weight...
The post The Intersection of Characters and Setting appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/10/16/the-intersection-of-characters-and-setting/
10 Dialogue Tips to Consider before You Start Writing
If you missed the Dialogue Deep Dive Master Class, you can access the recording and handouts by enrolling HERE! Any...
The post 10 Dialogue Tips to Consider before You Start Writing appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/09/29/10-dialogue-tips-to-consider-before-you-start-writing/
Is This Anything?
A trilogy of novels where each one skips big chunks of chapters but still tells a full story. Years later, the missing chapters show up in the next book, and then the last book finishes the rest.
Each stands alone, but if you put all three together in order, you end up with one complete novel hiding inside them.
#iTA #isThisAnything #bookidea #storyconcept #novelstructure #trilogy #experimentalfiction #writingprompt #storypuzzle #metafiction
Do You Really Have to Use a 3-Act Structure in Fiction?
Over the decades, I’ve heard many writers and writing coaches talk about the 3-Act Structure as if it’s a given....
The post Do You Really Have to Use a 3-Act Structure in Fiction? appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/06/23/do-you-really-have-to-use-a-3-act-structure-in-fiction/
Building Your Scenes with Beats
If you’re writing fiction, and particularly novels or novellas, you need to master scene structure. There is a whole lot...
The post Building Your Scenes with Beats appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/04/26/33309/
#Fiction #NailingSceneStructure #NovelStructure #Beats #cinematictechnique
@indieauthors
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴" 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮 -
After reading two of his essay collections, time at last to turn to some of his fiction. Already a terrific narrative peculiarity afoot . . .
#milankundera #theunbearablelightnessofbeing #novelstructure #czechrepublic #Czechia
writerdon, do you ever have a chapter where you can't quite tell if it belongs in the end of one act or the beginning of the next? how do you decide? does it matter to you?
I think in music a lot when writing, so it sort of feels like it matters, because to me the acts are movements - the conductor raises their baton, the reader takes a breath, & the act-chunk intends to act as a contiguous piece with its own tone and rhythm, but. I don't know! Thoughts?
