On Story Archives -

The 3rd Person Viewpoint

November 3rd, 2020Sarah Lovett4 Comments

I confess I never stop thinking about the interplay of the macro and micro of story. My goal is always to provide the reader with clarity and meaning. Story development and structure arise out of and along with character development. And the story world connects inextricably to the inner life of each story’s viewpoint character or characters. Simply defined, the viewpoint character refers to the perspective and mind of the character through which the reader experiences the story. You might think of this character as your story’s eyes and ears and thoughts. When you use multiple characters’ viewpoints in a …

Your Characters’ Desires Drive Your Story

July 19th, 2019Sarah Lovett2 Comments

Whether you are writing a novel or a memoir, the most important question you must answer is, What do my characters want? You’ll begin with your primary characters–your protagonist and major antagonist–and work from there to other characters. Little Big “Wants” If “what they want” seems like an easy question to answer in your stories, think again. Sure, a detective in a crime story wants to catch the bad guy and close the case. The lonely widower wants to find love. The superhero wants to save the world or at least her corner of it. Those goals (aka desires aka …

The Big Nothing, Small Deaths, and How a Dilemma is Vital for Storytellers

February 4th, 2019Sarah Lovett2 Comments

Recently I had a ‘New Year’ conversation with a good friend. Our talk turned to Noam Chomsky and his film, Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?, an animated documentary on the life of the linguist, philosopher, and political activist by French filmmaker Michel Gondry. (It is, btw, a delightful and provocative film.) Chomsky had been an early influence in my friend’s academic life. We touched briefly on Chomsky’s atheism and his belief in (I paraphrase) the “big nothing” that follows death. The topic of what comes after—nothing or something—tugged at me more than usual, due I think, to winter’s dark days and …

Coaching Questions to Keep You and Your Story and Your Life on Course

September 28th, 2018Sarah Lovett0 Comments

As a writing coach and mentor, I work with writers to become conscious of their writing process, to become accountable to their writing spirit, and to identify and deal with resistance so it does not stop them from writing. I encourage my clients to name, clarify, and hone their goals. I also ask them to identify the meaning they attach to reaching those goals. I ask myself those same questions. When we understand what we want and why we want it, and answer truthfully, we don’t lose our way. We can use what we know to stay on course for …

Story—The Journey from Darkness toward Light, from the Existential Scream to the Universal Sigh

November 20th, 2016Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Here’s the thing, being human isn’t easy. We are human and we are animal—savage and tender, mindful and thoughtless, loving and cruel, base and divine—and then toss our heart and spirit into the mix and try telling our story. Wait, shhhh, hear that existential scream? Yup, understanding the complexities of human nature is an ongoing challenge. If you have any desire to try, and if you are a writer, painter, musician, actor, creative seeker of any stripe, you are a storyteller and you are on the journey toward transformation and this is a gift. When it comes to story, transformation …