Action, suspense, and characters you want to cheer for
I always enjoy presenting at the Life, the Universe and Everything writers conference. This year they asked me to present the following. The 3 Little Secrets that Make Plotting So Much Easier No, the secrets don’t have anything to do with the hero’s journey; 3, 7, 8, or 9 acts; Lester Dent; or cat-saving beats. An average novel The post LTUE 2026 Presentations first appeared on John D. Brown - the…
I ll be presenting this Saturday, June 8, at the league s summer writer symposium at USU. Here s the description of my presentation. Make Em Beg For More! How do you keep your readers begging for one more page? The answer is probably not what you think. Come to this session to learn the surprising secret—along with The post Presenting at the League’s Summer Symposium first appeared on John D.…
During LTUE this year I sat down with John Goodwin, who manages the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest, to chat about the contest, my win, and other writerly topics. I had a great time with John. If you’re a new writer or illustrator working in the science fiction or fantasy genres, I strongly The post Interview with John Goodwin of Writers of the Future first appeared on John D. Brown…
Yesterday, I gave two presentations at Life, The Universe, and Everything, a SFF writers conference in Provo, Utah. A number of the attendees wanted copies of the presentations. I ve linked to them below. The Two Types of Plots Every Writer Should Know There are two types of plots that power almost all successful commercial fiction. The post LTUE 2024 Writing Presentations first appeared on John…
What’s the first step to becoming an entertaining storyteller? In a recent ZOE Nutrition podcast, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, suggests the key to starting a new behavior, like telling entertaining stories, is doing four things: But what s the FIRST step? It s mastering the art of showing up. That’s it. What does that look The post The First Step to Being an Entertaining Storyteller first…
In 1969, Greg Laurie, was seventeen and going to high school Newport Harbor High School in California. Fourteen miles from Disneyland. Just one mile from the beach. Laurie was raised by a single mother who had seven marriages and struggled with alcoholism. They moved often, sometimes to very different locations such as New Jersey and The post Good Stuff! Jesus Revolution first appeared on John D.…
I m excited to share the Lockwood Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. It s a delightful audiobook experience for the whole family. Nellie introduced me to it on our road trip to Yosemite last October. And, oh my gosh, how we’ve enjoyed listening. They’re young adult paranormal thrillers with a good dose of humor and English The post Good Stuff! The audio production of Lockwood & Co. first appeared on…
Had a wonderful time teaching about how to create page-turners. Here s a PDF of the PowerPoint as promised. JohnBrown_LTUE_2023_MakeEmBegForMore The post “Make ‘Em Beg For More” at LTUE first appeared on John D. Brown - the author's official site .
I’m about to put together a brand-new novel writing boot camp, but before I do that I want to know what would be most helpful to YOU. So if you want to write novels, my question to you is this… When it comes to writing novels, what’s YOUR single biggest challenge, frustration, or concern? Please The post Your single biggest challenge writing novels first appeared on John D. Brown - the author's…
I was invited to present a master class at the 2022 StoryMakers conference in Provo, Utah. We all want to develop plots that delight readers. Maybe we have ideas for the characters. Maybe we have ideas for the setting. Maybe we even have a couple of scenes. But a novel needs 40, 50, 60 or The post The Little Secret that Propels So Many Blockbuster Plots first appeared on John D. Brown - the…