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How to Use Mannerisms Effectively
You’ve created a character. You’ve crafted their backstory, motivation, and physical features, but maybe they still feel wooden to you. What can
December 6, 2025
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Character Development
Most popular posts
Literary agents serve as the link between writers and the publishing houses that print and market their books. They’re often...
Internal dialogue does more than let you know what a character is thinking. It shows you what that character cannot...
Flashbacks act as a sort of Swiss army knife. You can use them in multiple ways — to foreshadow coming...
Just as your characters each have a distinct voice, every writing style carries its own purpose, logic, and effect. Knowing...
If you want to become a better writer, flash fiction is a powerful way to strengthen your storytelling muscles. Flash...
There’s a particular kind of courage in writing about the world as it actually is. Although our imaginations can take...
Usually when you open a book and you’re embarking on a new adventure, you believe what the narrator tells you...
Tragic heroes are like a falling star, burning, hurtling to their doom, but are a sight to behold all the...
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it...
Stories that endure tend to tap into something deeply human. Philosophers, mythologists, psychologists, and more have theorized about different ways...
The characters we write in our stories play a central part in the audience’s engagement. Understanding your characters and why...
“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest...
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The Static Character’s Secret: Why Change Isn’t Always Necessary
The characters we write in our stories play a central part in the audience’s engagement. Understanding your characters and why they do
October 30, 2025
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No Good Guys, No Bad Guys
There are times, as storytellers, when we can be so bull-headed about what we want to express, that we end up pushing
May 10, 2024
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Writing the Reluctant Protagonist
“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”- Ernest
May 8, 2024
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Stay Curious
“The curious are always in some danger. If you are curious, you might never come home.” – Jeanette Winterson When my son
April 28, 2024
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Dramatizing Character
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to
December 4, 2023
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Taking Off the Mask
“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” – Amelia Earhart In Jerry Stahl’s memoir, Permanent Midnight, he shares
May 1, 2023
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Who is My Protagonist?
Some of you may be writing ensemble screenplays with multiple storylines and scratching your head wondering who your protagonist is. The key
February 1, 2023
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Blind Spots in Your Story
It is human to have blind spots, and often convenient to be in denial about certain aspects of ourselves. This is natural,
June 17, 2022
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The Power of Curiosity
Story creation often begins with an idea or an image that ignites your imagination. You become curious, wanting to know more, to
April 1, 2022
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Blog
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
August 6, 2021
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Blog
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
June 25, 2021
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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
June 4, 2021
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The Protagonist’s Experience
Regardless of the medium, your reader is not interested in what your character is feeling. Seriously. In fact, if you tell your
June 18, 2019
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Blog
Our Characters are Malleable
“Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what happened, but of
December 26, 2017
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Blog
Narrative Drive
“The purpose of narrative is to present us with complexity and ambiguity.”— Scott Turow If you’re rewriting and a point in your
November 20, 2017
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Recent posts
You’ve created a character. You’ve crafted their backstory, motivation, and physical features, but maybe they still feel wooden to you....
The characters we write in our stories play a central part in the audience’s engagement. Understanding your characters and why...
There are times, as storytellers, when we can be so bull-headed about what we want to express, that we end...
“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest...
“The curious are always in some danger. If you are curious, you might never come home.” – Jeanette Winterson When...
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it...
“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” – Amelia Earhart In Jerry Stahl’s memoir, Permanent Midnight,...
Some of you may be writing ensemble screenplays with multiple storylines and scratching your head wondering who your protagonist is....
It is human to have blind spots, and often convenient to be in denial about certain aspects of ourselves. This...
Story creation often begins with an idea or an image that ignites your imagination. You become curious, wanting to know...
(Image from And Justice for All, 1979) You can’t have story without conflict. As writers, it is important to investigate...
“A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the...
It’s not just first-time novelists or screenwriters that struggle with getting their story from the imagination to the page. Every...
Regardless of the medium, your reader is not interested in what your character is feeling. Seriously. In fact, if you...
“Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what happened,...
“The purpose of narrative is to present us with complexity and ambiguity.”— Scott Turow If you’re rewriting and a point...
