Weights & Measures
Proximity Do our characters have to be two thousand miles apart, or three miles apart? If we are trying to convey a […]
Dilemma: The Source of Your Story
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist has a […]
Writing the Forbidden
“Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are so ingrained in our society we rarely stop to think about it. I can […]
Backstory
“The past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare When we are stuck, it is inevitably because some part of our backstory is unclear. […]
Humor in Tragedy
(Image from Life is Beautiful, 1997) If you’re going to write a tragedy, infuse your story with humor. Humor pulls us towards the […]
Conflating Characters
Sometimes we’ve written characters that don’t belong in our story because their function is redundant. Conflict might arise that don’t add anything […]
Reframing Your Protagonist’s Goal
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense […]
How to Become a First-Time Author
The journey to becoming a first-time author is different for everyone. For me, it involved letting go of the idea that I’d […]
The Theme of the Story
Shakespearean plays begin with the chorus telling us what we are about to see. They don’t tell us the whole plot […]
Overcoming Writer’s Block
It’s not just first-time writers that get stuck. Every writer, except Stephen King, experiences writer’s block. Writer’s block is often an absence […]
What is My Title?
Those scant few words on the cover of our book or screenplay can be the most labor-intensive work of our entire manuscript. […]
