How to Develop a Mentorship
When learning something new, we’re often eager to find someone we trust to give us the lowdown. How can we make the most of a mentorship — real or virtual?
Pin ItHow Do We Use Sequels with Our Scenes?
Of the many confusing words in the writing world, the worst might be the terms “scenes and sequels.” What’s the purpose of sequels and how do we write them?
Pin ItIs Coronanxiety Forcing Everyone to Count “Spoons”?
A month ago, we discussed how the coronavirus might affect us as writers. Since then, we’ve all had to learn how to cope with limits to our “spoons.”
Pin ItActive vs. Passive Voice: Was and Not Was
Some verb tenses can cause confusion with passive voice. What is passive voice, and how can we tell when the word “was” is not a sign of passive voice?
Pin ItBeyond the Past: Understanding the Past Perfect Tense
Many writers struggle to use the past perfect tense correctly, so let’s review when the past perfect tense applies to our story and how to use it properly.
Pin ItEscape Generic Storytelling by Asking “Why?”
The most important question we can ask to get in touch with every aspect of our story is “why”—even helping us escape generic or cliché storytelling.
Pin ItStorytelling Verb Tenses: Past, Present, and “Literary” Past Tense
Most stories are written in literary past tense. What does that term mean, and if different from normal past tense, how is literary past tense different?
Pin ItCharacter Internalization: To Italicize or Not to Italicize?
A common question in writing forums asks when we should italicize a character’s thoughts. How should we format our characters’ internalizations?
Pin ItWriting Craft: How Point-of-View Affects Dialogue
We often want to share both characters’ reactions during dialogue. How can we do so without causing point-of-view, head-hopping, or attribution issues?
Pin ItWriting Craft Basics: How to Format Dialogue
We probably think we know everything about dialogue formatting already, but let’s make sure we know all there is to know before assuming.
Pin It
