Variety is the Spice of Conflict
Conflict is at the heart of every story. It's what drives the plot, highlights the stakes, and increases tension. It's the main reason readers...
Worldbuilding Should Reinforce Character and Plot
In their newest episode, the Writing Excuses hosts start a new series on worldbuilding. They talk with guest Fonda Lee about her process, which...
Re-Thinking the Passive “Was”
This editor admits: the overuse of the passive "was" in fiction is one of our biggest pet peeves. In fact, it's our major bone...
“Don’t ‘Yee-Haw’ Me!”: On Writing Competent Dialect
The use of dialect in fiction is an oft-debated subject. While its foes are adamant it should never be attempted, an equal number of...
Your Character Should Spend Very, Very Little Time Alone
The Writers Write blog shares 35 quotes about creating characters, taken from some of the top writers in the business. A few of our...
Going Beyond Factual Research to Get to the Heart of Your...
Cursory research on historical or otherwise unique settings can give you enough facts to establish a time or place, but sometimes you need more...
Unmet Needs Fuel Your Internal Conflicts
Becca Puglisi of the Writers Helping Writers blog continues her blog tour with a stop at C.S. Lakin's site, bringing another view of conflict....
Stronger Structure Can Save Your Muddy Middle
In a guest post on Writers Helping Writers, Jami Gold says that paying closer attention to traditional story structure can help you bolster a...
Please Don’t Call Me Beautiful
There's a fine line between "not enough" and "too much" that writers must tread in their fiction. Too many characters or too few? Too...
The Fine Line Between Real and Imagined in Historical Characters
When writing about real people in historical fiction, especially when an historical person is a main character, writers have to walk a fine line...
