Every good story needs a complication. We learn this fiction-writing fundamental in courses and workshops, by reading a lot or, most painfully, through our own abandoned story drafts. After writing twenty pages about a harmonious family picnic, say, or a… — Monica Wood Copy Share
“The shape of our family has been upended and rearranged, its roof flattened, its gateposts ripped from the earth by God's own brutal hand, and only the animals know enough to make a run for it.” — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
“I have always loved books for their reassuring heft, for their promise of new words, for their air of mystery, for their characters who… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
“The packet of fading photos gives it away if you know how to look: always a rundown porch landing and stair rails behind, always… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
“Maybe he, like Mum, believed God had delivered three extra children, one-two-three, as a sign of His plan for this couple's long, long friendship. But God had also delivered to him the Oxford Paper Company, and the foamy river it sat upon. And the long working hours it required. And the poison it put in the air. Three more girls… — Monica Wood Copy Share
“But even talented people, sooner or later, cracked their heads against their own personal ceilings.” — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
Every good story needs a complication. We learn this fiction-writing fundamental in courses and workshops, by reading a lot or, most painfully, through our own abandoned story drafts. After writing twenty pages about a harmonious family picnic, say, or a well-received rock concert, we discover that a story without a complication flounders, no matter how lovely the prose. A story… — Monica Wood Copy Share
“I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence on the ethereal, make the… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
“In they went, over the footbridges to mills flourishing on Chisholm land. “To the Rumford Falls Paper Company, which made—?” “Newsprint!” “And the Rumford… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
A well-chosen complication should give you choices. Juggling choices for your characters is what makes writing fun, after all. If you discover that you're… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
It's often hard to determine, especially in early drafts, whether or not a story has a bona fide complication. Remember this: A complication must… — Monica Wood Copy Share Image
