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...
Great Moral Issues Requires Art that Uplifts
During an interview with Lit Hub's fiction/non/fiction podcast, Ha Jin (A Song Everlasting) talks about how artists can create work that lasts while also...
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...
Character Change is the Heart of Your Story
In a guest post on Jane Friedman's blog, Susan DeFreitas says most writers struggle with plot because they don't understand their protagonist's character arc....
How to Get a Passive Character Through the Middle
Following up on recent Writer Unboxed articles about the virtues of passive characters and how to use them, Donald Maass tackles an important question:...
Make it Hard, Make it Weird: Adding Drama to Your Story
In a new blog post, Kristen Lamb offers advice for adding drama to your story. "Drama needs to be in everything we create if we...
Cliffhangers Should be Brief, Timely, and Punchy
You don't have to write thrillers to plot a good cliffhanger. Some writing advice suggests ending every chapter on a cliffhanger, which seems a...
