DiscoverSo You Want to be a WriterWRITER 612: Meet Petronella McGovern, author of 'The Last Trace', on how to build narrative tension and keep readers turning the page.
WRITER 612: Meet Petronella McGovern, author of 'The Last Trace', on how to build narrative tension and keep readers turning the page.

WRITER 612: Meet Petronella McGovern, author of 'The Last Trace', on how to build narrative tension and keep readers turning the page.

Update: 2024-07-15
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Meet Petronella McGovern, author of The Last Trace. Petronella shares her top 5 tips on creating narrative tension and so that readers keep turning the page. You'll discover techniques on character development, the challenges of editing, writing cliffhangers, ensuring you have internal and external conflicts and much more.

00:00 Introduction and welcome
00:18 TV series based on books
02:28 Nat Newman's writing tips on writing accents
10:46 WIN: Lies & Weddings by Kevin Kwan
13:51 Word of the week: Psephology
15:12 Interview with Petronella McGovern, author of The Last Trace
23:09 Introducing the multi-generational characters
23:46 Crafting emotional connections with characters
24:55 Narrative tension and point of view decisions
26:40 Internal and external conflicts
27:56 Writing realistic teenagers
30:41 Drip feeding secrets and foreshadowing
34:18 The importance of cliffhangers
35:15 The evolution of writing process
39:52 Balancing subplots and multiple POVs
42:25 Final thoughts and future projects
45:16 Conclusion and fun fact

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.auValerieKhoo.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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WRITER 612: Meet Petronella McGovern, author of 'The Last Trace', on how to build narrative tension and keep readers turning the page.

WRITER 612: Meet Petronella McGovern, author of 'The Last Trace', on how to build narrative tension and keep readers turning the page.

Australian Writers' Centre