Word Choice: What Does It Mean for Our Writing?
We’ve discussed POV and voice, but what does the term “word choice” mean, how does it affect our writing, and what goes into choosing the right words?
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What Do Readers Want from a Story’s POV?
Our story is—in many respects—what our story’s POV tells readers it is. So what do we want readers to get out of our story and chosen POV?
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How Does Our Character’s POV Affect Our Story?
Why is POV so important to understand? The better we understand the power of our character’s POV, the stronger we can make our characters and our story.
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Is Our Story’s Point of View Really What We Think It Is?
Third-person POV ranges from the most distant to the deepest perspectives, so how can we tell where our story falls on the POV spectrum to avoid problems?
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Do Your Characters Take on a Life of Their Own?
How can we get to know our characters well enough that they take on a life of their own? Is it a good sign if we hear their voice?
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How to Improve Our Story with Action Beats
For dialogue attribution, action beats are more flexible than dialogue tags for our writing, adding details to our story and immersing readers in the scene.
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How Should We Format Non-English Words?
As authors and audiences have diversified, it might be time to look at the standards for formatting non-English words and explore some of our options.
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How 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?
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Escape 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.
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Storytelling 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?
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