How to Build Personality Strengths and Weaknesses in Your Characters
If you ask a writer to identify their character’s personality strengths and weaknesses, most of them will come up with a weakness […]
Young Adult Fiction
What determines a book’s placement in young adult fiction vs adult fiction? It’s not simply based on the reader’s age. There are […]
Bad Character Traits Make for Compelling Stories
Character traits are expressions of a person’s personality and determine their behavior. They influence how your characters function in a story, and […]
Character Sketch: Going Beyond Appearances
A character sketch is one of the first steps to understanding who it is you’re writing about. It’s important to remember that […]
How to Use Formal Diction in Storytelling
When you read a line spoken in formal diction such as, “I regret to inform you that your services are no longer […]
How to Write Suspense
Suspense is all about what might happen. It’s not the moment of danger itself that evokes suspense, but the growing dread that […]
The Seeker Archetype: Writing the Restless Character
The Seeker archetype is a character beset by a divine discontent, an inner yearning for something just beyond their reach. There’s a […]
Syntax: The Secret Power of Sentence Structure
Two sentences with the exact same words rearranged can mean entirely different things. That shift is syntax at work. “Syntax” sounds like […]
What is a Mixed Metaphor?
Mixed metaphors are sneaky. You’re writing a scene, the words are flowing, then you write a line like, “She took the bull […]