Daniel David Wallace

Writing Tools

Short, interactive pieces from my courses and workshops for fiction writers. The drills give you a call to make again and again until it comes naturally. The explorables let you click through an idea and watch it work.

Drills

The Dragon's Toe Handling exposition: what to reveal, and when. Situation or Story? The difference between a character in trouble and a plot with work to do. Is the Light Doing the Moving? Spot when a writer hands the movement to the light, after Elaine Scarry’s Dreaming by the Book.

Explorables

From a Line to a Diamond Watch what a second commitment does to the shape of a plot. The Waterslide Why a middle made of events won’t slide. Answering the Question What is the reader wondering about? That’s what you write about next. The Third Time Show it once, show it again, then make the third time count. More Gothic! How people move in Wuthering Heights.

From Plotting and Planning Your Novel, A Gift for Plot, and the Vivid Descriptions workshop.