Flashbacks or Backflashes?
In a post on the Killzone blog, James Scott Bell offers advice about using flashbacks. Bell is a bit more broadminded than Sinclair Lewis,...
Does Your Plot Require a Team Effort?
The Writing Excuses hosts continue their series on ensemble casts. In this episode, they examine whether the ensemble suits the story you want to...
Structure is Just How You Get There
In a post on Lit Hub, writer Maria Adelmann examines a selection of novels that eschew traditional narrative structure. "A novel is not airline...
Don’t Skimp on Your Secondary Characters
In a post on the Stage 32 blog, Lewis Ritter says that you should never skimp on secondary characters. "However interesting the main character...
Why Mistakes are Worth Avoiding
In a post on Lit Hub, Maggie Shipstead says mistakes in our writing might be inevitable, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to...
Is Your Hero Too Tired to Care?
In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Becca Puglisi talks about a little discussed emotional state that sadly has become more common these days:...
What to Do When Your Story is Stuck in a Rut
It happens to everyone - you're barreling along with your story and come to a screeching halt. You've written yourself into a corner. Your...
Do All Your Characters Matter?
The Writing Excuses hosts continue their series on ensemble casts, this time discussing why every character needs to matter. They discuss how to build...
What’s Leonard Cohen Doing Here?
In a post on Lit Hub, Francesca Giacco explains how a fictionalized Leonard Cohen ended up as a character in his novel Six Days in...
Great Characters Have Great Flaws
In a post on Writers in the Storm, Ellen Buikema offers advice for writing memorable character flaws. "A character flaw is an undesirable trait that negatively...
