Never Lose Sight of Your Character’s Goals
In a post on The Script Lab blog, David Wayne Young says that forgetting your character's main goal is the most dangerous pitfall in...
Verbal Conflict is Conflict
Most of us avoid conflict in our real lives, so sometimes it can be hard to create in our fiction. That's one reason writers...
Every Character Needs a Reason
Writers are often told to make every word count. We should avoid over-describing our characters or settings, and instead pick out the most important...
Use Maps and Documents to Recreate the Past
In a guest post on the A Writer of History blog, writer Justin Reed talks about his method for writing about places and people...
3 Tips for Creating an Immersive Reader Experience
As writers, we're told that we should strive to "immerse" our reader into the story, to get them so caught up that they feel...
Your Novel Can Contain Multitudes
In a post on Writer's Digest, Liz Keller Whitehurst says writers can add layers to their novels by using multiple narrative forms within one...
What’s in a Name?
Writers love creating characters, but oddly, many don't seem to put too much thought into their names. Using the just-right name with linguistic, cultural,...
Is it Ironic?
In a post on The Write Practice, Joslyn Chase examines how dramatic irony can add suspense to your story. "Dramatic irony occurs when the reader...
Applying Moral Ambiguity to Worldbuilding
In their latest podcast, the Writing Excuses hosts continue their discussion of character biases with an exploration of moral frame. "When we say someone...
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,...
