#Follow @SHalvatzis for excellent articles on the craft of writing. #FF
Featured Follower: Stavros Halvatzis
Stavros was born in Alexandria Egypt, but grew up in Greece and South Africa. After graduating with a BA(Hons.), he spent several years studying film-making in London, before returning to South Africa to teach screenwriting and digital media at tertiary level. He has also taught similar subjects in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisane, Australia, prior to completing his a PhD in narrative studies there. Following the sucess of his first novel, Scarab, Stavros is currently writing on a full-time basis, although he consults and conducts writing classes internationally.
His next novel, The Level, a psychological thriller, is due out in the first quarter of this year.
A Sampling of His Website
Understanding Scene Construction
A scene is a story unit involving one or more dramatic beat(s). Much has been written about scene construction, but in today’s post, I want to highlight two important aspects: general function and function relative to story-position.
To read more of this post, click here.
What is Tone in Story Telling?
This post come about as a result of a suggestion by Mark Landen, a regular contributor to this blog, that I say something about tone in story-telling, and its impact on narrative elements such as theme and plot.
To read more of this post, click here.
How to Kick Start your Story
In a previous post, I mentioned that the inciting incident is an early narrative event intended to get the story rolling. In this post, I want to expand on this important device by highlighting two of its main functions: the inciting incident creates forward momentum by tearing us away from the ordinary world. It also keeps us interested in the story by setting up the 1st turning point as a surprise. The 1st turning point, as Syd Field reminds us, is the moment the plot truly commences — the real start of the story. Expressed in another way, it is the moment the protagonist is issued a new challenge, accepts a new opportunity, formulates a new plan, and embarks on a new journey to achieve it.
To read more of this post, click here.
