Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko Wants Us to Kill Our Darlings

by Peggy Bechko

killkillWe’re all writers. Whether of scripts or novels, right? So, how many times have you heard it? Variations of Stephen King’s classic advice: “Kill your darlings.”

Let’s roll that phrase around in our minds again. “Kill your darlings.”

Meaning, rip a scene or scenes from a script or novel that you just loved creating and think reads fantastically, but just doesn’t fit into the book. Doesn’t keep the story in the script moving forward. Doesn’t contribute much except a bit of writer’s dazzle. read article

Peggy Bechko Wants Us to Know “The Rules for Writing a Novel”

by Peggy Bechko

ruler
Not rulers, munchman, rules. Sheesh!

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”? W. Somerset Maugham

It’s funny and it’s true. Of course I could get nit-picky and start talking about language and all the rules needed to write properly. I could go on about the mythology behind stories, story arcs, beats and how to construct one the ‘right way.”

But I won’t. read article

Peggy Bechko on “Human Needs & Story Conflict”

by Peggy Bechko

funny_basic_human_needsAs writers of fiction, whether on the page or for film or stage, we all know we need conflict in a story. Simply put, no conflict, no story. We’ve all heard that, right?

And it’s true, I’m not going to start to be all original and tell you it isn’t. But the question arises then, what is at the heart of conflict? Your hero or heroine must have a goal. And that goal has to be an integral part of the plot.

So how does that work? Well us humans have some very basic needs and desires. For example. The very most basic need is food to eat, air to breathe, clothes to cover us, warmth (i.e a roof over our heads) to keep us from freezing and so on. That’s the very nitty gritty. read article

Peggy Bechko Ponders Character Development

Pondering-Questions

by Peggy Bechko

Characters and character development, we all think a lot about it and them. The people who populate your script or novel must be real. They must have flaws as well as commendable attributes.

I think we all know the parable of The One You Feed. If you don’t, here it is:

An old grandfather told his grandson: “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, and resentment. The other is good. It is joy, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and bravery.” read article

Peggy Bechko Discusses How Writers – and Readers – Regard Characters

pov

by Peggy Becko

Today I’m addressing writers and readers. It’s interesting how writers get lost in their own stories at times, even to the point of forgetting it’s their readers they want to engage and draw into the story and the lives of the character.

So I’ll focus, for the moment on characters and more specifically, the hero or heroine of the story. Characters are integral to the story. They aren’t just stick figures to be moved about, populating the world the writer has created in order to move those exciting and cool twists and turns of plot forward.

Right readers? You’re in it for more than that. Rarely do you readers wish you could read more about the plot, but rather wish you could read more about the characters, spend more time with them, learn what makes them tick. I’ve heard that from so many readers. read article