Setting a Plan with Purpose
Do you often find it hard to stick to your writing plan? How often do “important tasks” distract you and pull you […]
Creativity is Your Birthright
Creativity is your birthright. We live in a culture that is invested in our believing otherwise. I frequently hear folks talk of […]
Humor in Writing
There is nothing less funny than writing about humor. I was a standup comic for years. Every once in a while after […]
The Nature of the “Want”
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want” in your […]
Why Do We Write?
Why do we write? There is nothing logical about wanting to be a writer. The lives of artists can be awful, despairing, […]
How Do You Identify the Dilemma in Your Story?
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify the dilemma […]
The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. […]
What is Genius?
What is genius? I don’t like it when people use the term genius, primarily because I think they misuse the word. I […]
Begin Your Story
There are as many ways to begin your story as there are ways to procrastinate. Beginning to write your book or screenplay […]
Using Your Credo to Create Story Conflict
(Image from And Justice for All, 1979) You can’t have story without conflict. As writers, it is important to investigate and become […]
Make it Dramatic
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” – Alfred Hitchcock Story moves as the result of complications that arise, not […]
Everything You Need to Know is Within
“If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.” – Billy Wilder The purpose […]
Act One: Maintaining Tension
“A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to […]
The End of the Story Informs the Beginning
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For first-time writers, […]
3 Secrets for Getting Started on Writing Your First Novel
Every writer struggles with getting the story from imagination to the page. The first-time novelist confronts the special challenge of having never […]
Shedding the Idea for Truth in Writing
It’s not just first-time novelists or screenwriters that struggle with getting their story from the imagination to the page. Every writer struggles […]
Writing for Your Ideal Reader
Good storytelling is about having at least a somewhat conscious relationship to your ideal reader. It is about understanding the most effective […]
Writing Act Three: Our Hero Accepts the Reality of Their Situation
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it does not […]
