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 ItAspirational Stories: Do They Reflect Your Hopes and Goals?
Aspiration is “a hope or ambition of achieving something,” such as we see with the #RelationshipGoals tags on social media. Not surprisingly, our hopes and goals are sometimes reflected in the stories we write or the books we read.
Pin ItCreateSpace to KDP: The Aftermath
Last summer, Amazon announced that CreateSpace was closing and merging with KDP. Now that CS is dead and the migration is over, let’s make sure our books are set up properly at KDP.
Pin ItMake Characters Unique with Layering
Somewhere along our learning curve as writers, we’re likely to come across the skill of layering. Layering can help us create unique characters, no matter how stereotypical or tropey they might be on the surface.
Pin ItWriting: A Form of Therapy? Or a Source of Insights?
As writers, we often joke about how writing can act as therapy. Yet beyond the typical therapy aspects, writing—with its direct connection to our subconscious—gives us an open door to our brain and thought processes.
Pin ItComplex Story? Use a Crime Wall — Guest: Kitty The Retro-Writer
When 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 ItDo’s and Don’ts When Creating Villains — Guest: Kassandra Lamb
Depending 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 ItHow Do We Create Realistic Villains? — Guest: Kassandra Lamb
The 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 ItHow Do We Check the Facts in Our Fiction? — Guest: Selina J. Eckert
Fiction has to make more sense than real life, and logic and consistency are required. Selina J. Eckert shares her advice on how to make sure our fiction rings true through fact-checking.
Pin ItUsing Tips from Poetry to Strengthen Our Prose — Guest: Pamela Donison
Longer writing—such as stories—can often be easier to write than something shorter, like a synopsis, query, Twitter pitch, or log line. That’s why the skills important in poetry can strengthen our prose writing.
Pin It
