Hitting it out of the park: Understanding the four act structure using sport
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky Everyone loves a good sporting idiom, metaphor, or analogy – “A game of two halves”, “throwing aContinue Reading
Category: Story Engineering
Writing the final act: a step-by-step guide
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky In some ways, the fourth and final act in a novel (somewhat confusingly titled Act 3 (sinceContinue Reading
Speculative Fiction – a new approach to genre and subgenres
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky As my portfolio starts to expand (the complete Divided Elements series is published next year, and myContinue Reading
Is your plot skeleton showing?
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky I started writing short stories eighteen months ago. Seduced by the competitions and submission opportunities, I thought itContinue Reading
Energising your plot – working with narrative energy to improve pacing
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky I’m in the second act doldrums of my current WIP (but not for long, because the break intoContinue Reading
Divergence and Convergence – the curse of the second act
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky It seems that every time I reach the middle of a WIP, I start musing on the problemsContinue Reading
How does this ‘conflict, not goals’ thing work anyway?
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky Recently I wrote a post about character needing conflict, not goals. I received a great question fromContinue Reading
The 15 Minute Four Act Structure
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky Over here, in my part of the world, it is winter. Which means flu season. Which, when youContinue Reading
Forget the Goal – Your character just needs conflict
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky Everyone has seen them – the pithy pieces of writing advice that can fit on a 940×780 pixelContinue Reading
Rinse & Repeat – The Four Act Novel Structure
by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky Recently I reached the midpoint in the first draft of Divided Elements (Book 2). As anyone who has read myContinue Reading
Mikhaeyla Kopievsky 