The Lens Through Which You See Your Story
March 17, 2020
“I find that when I am working I become like an antenna, and suddenly everything relates to my screenplay: a mentioned recipe,
Story Structure
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Most of our everyday speech happens in dialogue — in conversations. You might talk to yourself from time to time,...
What is a story without a plot? Not much! A plot is the sequence of events that helps give a...
Understanding when and how to use active vs passive voice isn’t just a matter of grammar; it’s a matter of...
The words “book” and “novel” are sometimes used interchangeably. But they actually mean different things. In this article, I’ll describe...
The diction you use in your writing is a choice you’re always making, whether subconsciously or not. Writers trade in...
Creating tone in your writing provides a texture to the work. It’s the emotional coloring that shapes how a reader...
Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...
With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....
What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist...
Story is always a journey of self-discovery “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Embarking on a creative...
Theme is a way of making a series of events which are personal to the protagonist universally relatable to a...
No Dilemma, No Story
June 4, 2019
One thing that has been coming up a lot in my classes is the tendency for writers to “figure out” their plot.
Dilemma: The Source of Your Story
January 16, 2019
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist has a
Choice
October 30, 2018
Why do we write? Why do we spend months, years, even decades engaged in the solitary act of creating a world on
Reframing Your Protagonist’s Goal
December 12, 2017
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense
The Theme of the Story
September 18, 2017
Shakespearean plays begin with the chorus telling us what we are about to see. They don’t tell us the whole plot
