How Can We Make Our Protagonist More Proactive?

Cat sleeping on white background with text: How Can We Make Our Characters More Proactive?

Why is it important for characters to be active or proactive rather than reactive or passive? How can we fix a passive protagonist?

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Story Endings: How to Write a Strong Resolution

Fireworks reflecting over water with text: What Makes a Finale Great?

Our story’s opening is important for gaining readers, but our story’s ending is what sells readers on our next book. What makes a story resolution great?

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Author Insights: What’s Our Core Story?

Closeup of avocado cross-section with text: What's the Core of Our Storytelling?

The better we understand ourselves, the better writer we’ll be. One way we can better understand ourselves is to explore our core story. What do our stories have in common?

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Weaving Story Threads Together — Guest: Rosie Danan

Blue braided rug with text: Weaving Our Story's Threads into a Satisfying Whole

We often learn how to develop our story’s plot separate from character arcs, but our story’s threads work in tandem. Here’s a way to ensure they intertwine.

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Writing a Series? 7 Do’s and Don’ts — Guest: Kassandra Lamb

Photo overlays showing the sequence of a snowboard trick with text: 7 Tricks for Setting Up a Series

If you’ve ever thought about writing a series but weren’t sure how to “evolve” the series from book to book, Kassandra Lamb is here to share her insights.

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Story Conflict: It’s Not as Simple as We Think — Guest: L. Deborah Sword

Chessboard with one piece knocked down with text: Does "Healthy" Conflict Make a Story Boring?

How can we include conflict—and conflict resolution—between our characters without relying only on fighting? Check out L. Deborah Sword’s insights.

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Romance Genre: How Can We Portray Healthy Relationships?

Shiny beads on red background in shape of an arrow through a heart with text: What Is an Unhealthy Romance?

My new workshop covers all of the underlying elements that contribute to readers’ sense of a strong, deep relationship so we can portray healthier romances.

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NaNoWriMo Is Coming…Are You Ready?

This time of year, writers try to get their story idea into shape before the first of November. Here’s some help to get your planning off on the right foot with NaNoWriMo.

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