Fiction Writing Tips – Page 2 – Robert Plamondon's Fiction

How to Start a Story

March 9, 2025March 8, 2025 by Robert Plamondon

How do you write the first few paragraphs of a story so the reader doesn’t stop reading immediately? Any way you like, but I’ll tell you my way.

I’m going to to assume you already know what happens in your first scene, and it’s a matter of opening it to best effect.

You need two things:

Workmanlike construction.
Something, anything, that makes them want to keep reading (a hook).

Today I’ll talk about workmanlike construction. All I’m going to say about hooking the reader is that, for many readers, it’s like speed dating. They won’t give you the benefit of the doubt for a whole chapter; not even close.

Write Stories as if They’re True: Truth is Stronger than Fiction

May 11, 2025November 13, 2022 by Robert Plamondon

A huckster selling Genuine Snake Oil — Art by rtro.

Writers new to the fiction racket are often confused about first principles. And why hot? First principles are rarely stated fair and square. Or at all.

Here’s one: You can write fiction as if it’s a true story. You can write it as if it’s a fake story. It makes a difference.

Some stories are obviously made up. You can tell from the first few words: “A guy walks into a bar.” “Once upon a time.” Others are more subtle. Some stories are obviously true. And some that aren’t true look and feel as if they are.

This appearance of truth buys you things worth having.

How People Tell Real Stories

The world is awash in published true stories: things that actually happened and are told truthfully, more or less. And you know what? If written halfway competently, truth has the ring of truth about it! Not because of what it says, but the way it says it. In this sense, truth is stronger than fiction. We can use that.

“Am I Good Enough?” My Instant Cure for Imposter Syndrome

May 11, 2025October 30, 2022 by Robert Plamondon

That's not the king! It's an imposter! — He’s not the king, he’s an imposter! The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), MGM.

A lot of writers feel like imposters, and not in a good way, like Rudolf Rassendyll in The Prisoner of Zenda. What to do?

Imposter syndrome, obviously, is when you feel like an imposter without actually being one, or at least not on purpose. It not only makes writers feel bad, it makes them hesitate to share their work with readers—the ultimate artistic tragedy! Again, what to do?

Well, several things, but let’s start by recalibrating your expectations. Against all the evidence, we tend to believe that all successful authors write really well: far better than we do. But do they? Let’s find out!

Who’s the Imposter Now? Check out the Bottom of the Amazon Top 100 List

It’s time to take a look at successful books in your niche and see how good the worst of them are. You can do this for free with the Search Inside the Book or Kindle Free Sample features.

Obviously, if you write as well as the worst stories on the Top 100 list, you’re good enough for the Top 100 list. Maybe just barely, but good enough nonetheless. How good is that? Let’s find out.

All About the Lester Dent Master Plot Formula: Step-by-Step Story Creation

March 9, 2025October 22, 2022 by Robert Plamondon

Lester Dent was the creator of the classic pulp-fiction hero, Doc Savage, and a powerful story-creation formula, The Lester Dent Master Fiction Plot, published in 1939. I’ve presented it below, fleshing it out where needed with my own commentary.

From here on out, Dent’s words are shown in normal text, while mine are in italics.

The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot

This is a formula, a master plot, for any 6,000-word pulp story. It has worked on adventure, detective, western, and war/air. It tells exactly where to put everything. It shows definitely just what must happen in each successive thousand words.