Crime Fiction Owes More to the Victims
Politicians and social commentators often make hash out of violence in popular culture, gaming, and the arts. They say that depictions of violence desensitize...
La Plus Ça Change…
In their latest podcast, the Writing Excuses hosts discuss why writers of fantasy and science fiction allow their worlds to remain static. In our...
Use Poetry to Unlock a Different Kind of Prose
If you're like this editor, you read in a variety of genres and forms, including plays, essays, and poetry. Unfortunately, many writers wouldn't be...
Advice on Developing Characters On Either Side of a Societal Conflict
As you grow as a writer, you might feel the need to tackle significant themes in your writing. Even many genre novels address topical...
Set Scenes by Thinking Like a Director
Continuing her series of articles on using cinematic techniques in prose, C.S. Lakin offers more specific advice on mastering this approach. "The more you...
Do You Know Your Character’s Backstory?
Your characters may first appear to your reader on page 1 of your story, but in their world, they've lived full lives before we...
He Said, She Said: Finding a Better Way to ID Characters with Dialogue
Writers love to debate the use of dialogue tags. Some eschew them altogether. Some argue that "said" is the only acceptable attribution, while others...
The Ethics of Portraying Historical Persons
The beauty of writing fiction is that we create our own worlds and people them with characters whose personalities and fates we (mostly) control....
You Don’t Need Money for a DIY Writing Diploma
We can't all afford to attend the best schools for creative writing or screenwriting, and if we can, a lot of us late bloomers...
Reinforce Theme with Setting
Regardless of where you set your story, your writer's view of place should be informed by your theme goals and your character's point of...
