Using Fear as a Weapon and a Hill to Conquer
Fear: a vital element for thriller and horror fiction, but also an emotion commonly found in stories of all types. Mastering the expression of...
Bring Your M.I.C.E. Together for a Satisfying Story
In the latest edition of their podcast, the Writing Excuses hosts have their final discussion about the M.I.C.E. (Milieu, Inquiry, Character, and Event) elements...
“The Writer You Are is Enough.”
In an interview with Lit Hub, Ruth Ozeki (A Book of Form and Emptiness) shares some of the best advice she's received about the...
Truman Capote: Voice is a Process of Self-Discovery
Truman Capote embodied the concept of "extra" before it was a thing. While we might have found his company a bit much, there's no...
Six Great Ways to Open Your Story
As writers, we obsess over introductions. Introducing our characters, their goals and conflicts, our setting and story world. But one element many writers fail...
Writing Exercise: Change Your Audience
During her interview with the Write the Book podcast, director and playwright Lisa Peterson offers an interesting writing exercise. Peterson suggests that you take...
Feel Like You’re Running Out of Time? You Are.
We don't share too many articles on productivity, especially those focused on finding time to write, generally because they get a bit same-y after...
Preach! (Without Getting Preachy)
If you're feeling like the world has been veering from one crisis to another for the last 2 years, you're not alone. Big topics...
Your Characters’ Relationship with Money is Important, Too
A character's relationship with money is one of the most subtle but important traits you can develop, yet it's often the most poorly written. Many...
Don’t Make This Mistake in Your Dialogue
There's nothing like cracking dialogue to keep readers enthralled by your story and nothing will throw them out as quickly as crappy dialogue. Clumsy,...
