The Chopping Blog

"Whenever I’m analyzing the plot of a more structurally experimental novel, I start by considering what happens at the climax."

The First Page Challenge is a lot of fun, after all. So we're bringing it back.

All fiction is autobiographical in the sense that your characters and story world are drawn from your lived experience of people and places.

"So many things are well written, but very few things keep me turning pages with speed and dedication."

"Manuscripts don't need to start with the inciting incident, but they need to draw you in. An opening stuck in mundanity or incessant description or relentless backstory is a sign the story isn't starting in the right place."

But does this count as plot? Doesn’t plot require a protagonist? Doesn’t plot require an inciting incident, an arc, and a climax?

If you give your protagonist an internal conflict, they will feel authentic to the reader, and you will create an essential connection between reader and protagonist that is at the heart of all engaging stories.

In the character of Heathcliff, Brontë proves that a protagonist doesn’t have to be likable for readers to follow them; they just have to be interesting.

If your artistic skills extend only to drawing stick people, don’t fret!

We loved it so much, we’re already looking ahead to next year.

Yes, it's true. We're taking a break from hosting contests.

"I was a medical student when I lost my ability to fall asleep."