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?
Pin ItWhere Normal Need Not Apply
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?
Pin ItFor dialogue attribution, action beats are more flexible than dialogue tags for our writing, adding details to our story and immersing readers in the scene.
Pin ItAs 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.
Pin ItOf 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 ItThe 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 ItMost 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 ItA common question in writing forums asks when we should italicize a character’s thoughts. How should we format our characters’ internalizations?
Pin ItWe 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 ItMany are struggling with anxiety, but stories have power in a crisis. Beyond the stories we write, there’s also the story we tell ourselves about our life.
Pin ItA joke about authors vs. English teachers has circulated online for years. What can it teach us about how readers interpret our story?
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