Use Your Hero’s Blind Spots to Build Plot and Character
Many creative people find writing therapeutic, this editor among them. Not every story or journal entry is a means of working out our shit,...
Khanh Ha on the Difference Between Style and Voice
During an interview with the DIY MFA podcast, Khanh Ha discusses:
How he writes death scenes in a way that is comfortable for him...
Character’s Need Unique Voices, Too
In a recent post on the Writers Helping Writers blog, September Fawkes offers tips on creating unique speaking voices for your characters. Fawkes defines...
Novel That Make Setting a Character of Its Own
Hogwart's. The Overlook Hotel. The Pequod. Novels are filled with settings that are so integral to the story, they seem to have the essence...
Don’t Preach 2: Use Character to Make Your Big Issue Novel...
In part 2 of her Writer Unboxed article on writing about big issues, Kathryn Craft offers advice on how to avoid the big pitfalls...
How “What If” Turns Your Life Experiences Into Fiction
Readers often attribute the actions and attitudes of fictional characters to their authors. That's great if your protagonist is brave, self-sacrificing, kind, and -...
Your Own Personal Tardis: How to Handle Time Jumps in Your...
Battlestar Galactica did it. Desperate Housewives did it. You probably do it, too, in just about every story you write. The time jump.
Of course,...
Use Visual Techniques to Avoid Telling
The most obnoxious, yet necessary, writing advice is the axiom of "show, don't tell." Necessary, because too much "telling" flattens your story. There's little...
Sometimes a Cigar is Much More Than a Cigar
Characters are often recognized by the objects we associate with them, particularly in popular fiction. Sometimes, this represents the author's intentional choice of symbol...
Turning a Great Idea into a Great Story
Memorable novels start with a great premise. What if religious fundamentalists took over the United States and forced women into a form of sexual...
