What do you think’s the most important element of a story? Some people say the plot. Others say the characters. They’re both wrong. Sure stories are meant to entertain us with gripping plots and complex characters. Good stories will always do that. But great stories do more. They teach us. Continue Reading
How to End a Story
Some people say the ending is the most important part of a story. I’m inclined to agree. Mess up the ending, and your reader will feel cheated. Like they’ve wasted their time. The greatest premise in the world won’t mean squat if you can’t stick the landing. I’ve experienced this Continue Reading
Creating an Anti-Hero
This week I want to talk about anti-heroes. In this morally ambiguous time, it’s no longer popular to write about classic heroes who are purely good and righteous. I mean, where’s the fun in that? Gone are the days of swashbucklers like Ivanhoe and Robin Hood. Even the most recent Continue Reading
Author Interview: Maxine Sylvester
The wonderful thing about the writing community is that there are so many people to look to for inspiration. I mean, you’ve read my writing. I’m in constant need of inspiration, and do you know the kind of writer who inspires me the most? Self-starters, people with a wide-range of Continue Reading
Author Interview- Dan Buri
As an aspiring writer, I try to read as often as possible. Sometimes, I’ll read a piece of fiction, or a line or two of dialogue, and think-Wow, I wish I could write like that. This happened to me recently while reading Dan Buri’s Pieces Like Pottery. The book is Continue Reading
5 Tips For NaNoWriMo
It’s November. Is it just me, or was November designed to be the most stressful month of the year? Halloween is such a fun holiday, but fast-forward twenty-four hours and all the big-box retailers start blasting Christmas carols like they’re trying to break up a hostage crisis. How can you Continue Reading
5 Things To Do In Your Story’s Second Act
You’ve knocked out your First Act and you have a killer Inciting Incident. What now? Well, it’s time for your Second Act, and in this act, your protagonist has one job- To Respond. A good First Act will end with a major plot point that will disrupt the protagonist’s life Continue Reading
5 Things To Do In Your Story’s First Act
When I started writing fiction I had no idea what I was doing. The stories I produced were what I like to call amoebas. They were amorphous blobs with no structure and very little plot. My stories were basically daydreams that I transcribed onto paper. I soon realized that my Continue Reading
Author Interview: Darlene Foster
Recently, I wrote on this blog that when you start your journey as a writer you’ll find that perfect strangers are willing to help you. I was lucky enough to find one of these gracious people myself. Her name is Darlene Foster. Darlene Foster is the award-winning author of the Continue Reading
5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing Dialogue
Dialogue, on its face, should be easy. I mean, it’s just talking, right? We all talk, every day. Shouldn’t crafting impeccable dialogue come naturally? If only it were that simple… The truth is that dialogue, like all aspects of writing, is an art form unto itself. Writing it effectively can Continue Reading