Shannon Donnelly

I’ve been reading some manuscripts lately that have trouble sorting out the protagonist, so this seems worthy of a blog. The protagonist—your central character—needs to be worthy of a story. The protagonist also needs enough going on to carry the story.… Read the post

Shannon Donnelly

I teach a Show and Tell workshop online and everyone comes into that workshop wanting to know how to show more—they’ve usually been hit with the advice to ‘show don’t tell’. However, there’s a place for the narrative in any fiction.… Read the post

Shannon Donnelly

I'm always thinking about the pacing of the story. Am I moving too slow or too fast? Too much detail in the story slows the pacing—but too little and the reader can’t ‘see’ the scene. Action is great for speed, but too much can confuse.… Read the post

Shannon Donnelly

Backstory—the background needed to enrich a story—is one of those things that can drive any writer nuts. How much is too much? When do you reveal more? When do you hold back? Too much backstory can sink a story—because you’re not moving the story forward.… Read the post

by Shannon Donnelly

I’ve been thinking a lot about story endings, probably because I’m getting close to one in the book I’m working on. But also we watched 2 Guns the other day and it has a fabulous mirror from the beginning to ending—that mirror technique where the last scene echoes the opening scene, but everything is now different, is a great technique.… Read the post