Breaking the “Rules”: Will It Be Easy or Hard?
Much of writing is subjective, so it can be hard to know how to treat writing advice. Is it a hard-and-fast rule, a guideline, or a personal preference?
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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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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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What’s Your Personal Story?
Many 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.
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Story Elements: Give Them Purpose
For a strong story pace, we need to ensure every element has purpose. How can we do that? How can we know if a scene or sentence is pointless?
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How Can We Make Our Protagonist 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
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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Weaving Story Threads Together — Guest: Rosie Danan
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
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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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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