How Tropes Can Strengthen Your Story
Many writers - this one included - feel constrained by advice on percentage-based story structure, genre expectations, and tropes. However, sometimes these constraints can...
Story Structure as Time Management
In a post on Lit Hub, Jessica Anthony identifies ways to get a grip on fictional time. "Structure is a sentence, a paragraph, a...
Does Every Story Have a Grand Gesture?
As writers, we hope to create big, meaningful moments in our work, scenes that move our readers' emotions and remain in their memories. Whether...
Narrative vs. Contextual Tension
In their latest episode, the Writing Excuses hosts talk about tension on the page and the contextual tension that the reader brings to the...
Characters Need Wounds
In a recent blog post, Kristen Lamb examines wounds and their effect on character and story. "Wounds matter in life and in fiction," she...
Place is an Experience, Not Merely a Setting
In a post on Lit Hub, Lena Valencia offers advice on writing place like a character. "Place is something that’s experienced by a person—or...
Questions to Ask Your Villains
In a post on Lit Hub, Minrose Gwin offers advice on creating complex villains. "Villains make trouble, and trouble makes for a good story,"...
Interview with Jane Alison
The new season of Write-Minded on Literary Hub starts off with an interview with Jane Alison, author of Meander, Spiral, Explode, a book about craft...
Driven Characters Can Drive a Powerful Plot
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Donald Maass says that a motivated protagonist can help you overcome a number of problems with plot. "What...
Facts Don’t Care What Your Character Believes
Pork is not "the other white meat." Carrots don't boost your eyesight. In a recent post to her email list, Janice Hardy says that...
