SYDNEY SMITH

My new book The Architecture of Narrative (threekookaburras, 2014) is a revolutionary guide to plotting and structure for novelists.

Story is the passion of my life

I write it and I teach the principles that make narrative work at its best. To me, a story is working at its best when I engage fully with the characters, and when they live on after I have finished reading.

As a teacher, I have been working in the story-development industry since 1996, first as a manuscript assessor, then as a classroom teacher holding short courses on different aspects of narrative, and as a mentor, working one-on-one with writers. The classes I have held and the clients I have worked with reflect my eclectic outlook. I love story. I work with writers on their stories.

I read across most narrative groups, from crime to literary fiction, from memoir to fantasy, from adult books to books for children and young adults. Story comes first with me. I make no concessions to prestige or the number of units a book has sold. All that matters to me is whether the characters and their problems invigorate my imagination.

My reading tastes are broad, and so are my writing inclinations.