<span class="vcard">Adam Stemple</span>
Adam Stemple

Three Act Description Structure — Free

If you’re looking for an easy way to write blurbs, why not use the structure most writers use — whether they know it or not. It’s based on the three act story structure, as featured in this portal fantasy blueprint. The structure is three acts split into three sections each like this: Act I — Set Up Exposition — The setup. Show your protagonist in their ordinary life. Inciting Incident — The thing that happens to start the protagonist on their journey through the plot. Plot Point One — The thing that solidifies the protagonist going on their journey (despite …

The Three Act Story Structure — Free

The Three Act Story Structure is one of the most basic story structures and one of the most useful, in my opinion. It gives the author plenty of room for inspiration, innovation, and invention while still keeping them on track to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Some may need a more detailed plan (the 27 chapter structure extrudes this structure into granular detail), but for those who seek only a little order to help them tell their tale, this structure does the job. Act 1: Setup Exposition The main character is introduced in their natural habitat. The length of this …

Nailing the First Line — Excerpt

There’s a lot of pressure on the opening sentence of a book to hook the reader in, the belief being that if you don’t get your reader quick, you likely won’t get them at all. I tend to spread the responsibility around, and instead of talking about the first sentence, I talk about the whole opening of a book. And there’s more to a good opening than just being a “hook.” Especially if you’re writing genre fiction. First of all, I like the first sentence to be genre specific, or at least hinting at the genre the book is written …

Writing Descriptions That Sell — Free Article

A cover might bring the reader in, but it’s the description that seals the deal. So, how do you write a description that turns browsers to buyers? Discoverability vs. Conversion A good description both makes your book easier to find through good use of keywords and search terms as well as “conversion” — getting someone to buy the book. When writing descriptions, I lean far more toward conversion over discoverability, because if you get eyes on the your book that don’t buy, you’ve wasted ad money and are telling the algorithm that your book doesn’t sell. Booksellers give higher priority …

Building an ARC Team for Reviews

Getting reviews might be the single biggest determinant for how well your book sells. In all the studies I’ve seen, number of reviews has been rated highest for whether a reader will pick up a book by an unknown author. But it’s a catch-22. You need reviews for readers to take a flyer on an author they don’t know; but to get reviews, people need to read and review your book. The way around this conundrum is to use ARC — Advanced Reader Copies. The publishing industry has been using ARCs for years. They print uncorrected proofs, often missing some...

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Writing Great Dialogue

Taking up as much as half of a book, dialog might be the most important part of writing to master. And it is far more likely that readers will remember what a character said, rather than how great a certain description was. But how do you write great dialogue, and how do you do it consistently? Dialogue Isn’t Speech Note that the title of this article is writing great dialogue, not writing realistic dialogue. Great dialogue sparkles, illuminates character, provides worldbuilding, moves the plot along, and creates memorable scenese for the reader. It is often, however, not very realistic. Real...

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