Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

HOW TO USE COINCIDENCE IN STORIES

By: Stavros Halvatzis

Can a story contain a convenient coincidence without being deemed lazy and weak? After all, Charles Dickens’s work abounds with such narrative devices. I believe the answer is yes, but only if it is limited to one per story and is carefully woven into the tale.

Although life is riddled with what appears to be magnificent coincidences—the meeting of one’s future spouse by chance, the winning of a grand prize, the procurement of a lucrative job based on an impromptu internet search, stories are a different kettle of fish. Here, the reader or audience expects the material to be adroitly planned and crafted. A series of coincidences is viewed for what it is: laziness on the part of the writer.

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If you missed my writing and marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Writer's Edit How to Get Your Writing Out There - Writer's Edit http://ow.ly/s7M6W
2. Writer's Edit StoryFront: The Short Story Revolution? - Writer's Edit http://ow.ly/s7M9NFinish  
3. Our Hero the Villain http://ow.ly/s7MdO
4. Scrivener Basics: Starting, Opening, and Closing | Gwen Hernandez http://ow.ly/s7MfS
5. How To Make Your Setting a Character | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/s7Mi7
6. 4 Things to Consider When Researching Literary Agents | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/s7MkJ
7. What is a Time Lock? | Stavros Halvatzis http://ow.ly/s7MnV\\
8. How to Use Coincidence in Stories | Stavros Halvatzis http://ow.ly/s7Mqq
9. Fiction Notes | Get Your Tone Right http://ow.ly/s7Myu
10. Plot Is a Four-Letter Word | Chronicles of the Scribe http://ow.ly/s7MAP
11. 2013: The year of self-publishing | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/s7MFU
12. The Marketing Tool We Often Forget: Gratitude | Author Marketing Experts, Inc. http://ow.ly/s7MXR
13. Facebook Engagement, How to Get Seen in the Facebook News Feed | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/s7N0d
14. Put Calls To Action In The Back Of Your Books To Sell More Books | Book Marketing Tools Blog http://ow.ly/s7N2g
15. Ten Ways to Use Audio to Sell More Books http://ow.ly/s7N5l
16. Reading's About To Go Way, Way, Social. Are You Ready? | Dot Complicated http://ow.ly/s7N7T
17. 10 book-discovery websites you should know about - BookBaby Blog http://ow.ly/s7N9m
18. Tips and Tools for Measuring Social Engagement in 2014 - SocialTimes http://ow.ly/s7Njc
19. The Entrepreneurial Realities Of Being A Pro Writer With Mel Sherratt | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/s7Wvr
20. Anne R. Allen's Blog: 6 Writing Dragons: How To Slay Them...and Realize Your Writing Dreams in 2014 http://ow.ly/s8bGs
21. Alternate vs. Alternative http://ow.ly/s8bQm
22. The Best Way to Overcome the Post-Christmas Blues | Goins, Writer http://ow.ly/s8bZ7
23. Novel Rocket: The Best POV ~ First Person or Third? http://ow.ly/s8c4D
24. 2014 Reboot: Get Ready for the New Year With a Blog Overhaul : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/s8c7B
25. Big Mistake - Social Media In's and Out's http://ow.ly/s8cb6 Common Social Media Mistakes Made by Businesses
26. How to Trick Yourself into Writing, Editing and Marketing - Rachelle Gardner http://ow.ly/s8cei
27. How to Publish an E-Book: Resources for Authors | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/s8ciH
28. Publishing Round Up Series: Create impressive Google+ hovercards in 7 easy steps | Nonfiction Authors Association http://ow.ly/s8cpO
29. Does the Facebook Boost Button work? | THE WRITERS' SHACK http://ow.ly/s8qLj

Happy writing and running, Kathy