Story Tropes: How Do We Twist a Cliché?
Sometimes we’ll hear writing advice like “avoid clichés,” but what does that mean when it comes to story tropes? After all, can’t tropes be helpful? And if so, how do we make them less cliché?
Pin ItWhere Normal Need Not Apply
Sometimes we’ll hear writing advice like “avoid clichés,” but what does that mean when it comes to story tropes? After all, can’t tropes be helpful? And if so, how do we make them less cliché?
Pin ItWhen we’re drafting or editing our story, we usually have to keep track characters, secrets, plots, research, and story bible details. But for complex stories, we might want to create a Writer Crime Wall.
Pin ItDepending on the type of villain in our story, the psychology we use to create our character changes. Kassandra Lamb shares her 8 “do’s and don’ts” to help us create our villains.
Pin ItThe antagonist in our story might be a love interest or truly evil or anything in between. When our story requires a villain, we might struggle to avoid clichés. Kassandra Lamb shares her insights into psychopaths, sociopaths, and other bad guys.
Pin ItA recent Twitter thread brought up problematic reader expectations with story endings. Can we find a balance between “fulfilling our story’s promise and our genre’s expectations” and avoiding a cliché ending?
Pin ItUnless we’re only ever going to write just one book, we need to improve our ability to develop an idea into a story. That means we need to learn how to brainstorm in a productive way.
Pin ItA recent post by Diana Hurwitz explored the nature of antagonists in romance novels. Today, we’re taking a deeper look at our options for antagonists, especially in the romance genre, and how we can avoid creating unhealthy relationships.
Pin ItSeveral writing craft issues tend to be hallmarks of what’s called “lazy writing.” The practice of head hopping is usually considered lazy writing, but we might not understand why it earns that label. Let’s learn more and see how we can avoid head hopping and the “lazy writing” trap.
Pin ItWe all love a “good” villain, but sometimes we want our bad guy to see the light and find redemption (or at least start on that path). Becca Puglisi is here to show us how with four paths to redemption for our villain.
Pin ItA Black Moment is an event in our story that steals the protagonist’s hope for a solution. However, some stories don’t make sense with a typical catastrophe for a Black Moment. How can we give them a Black Moment that will work?
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