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How Do I Begin?
“How do I begin?” The process of story creation is mysterious. Where do your story ideas come from? From where do your
June 21, 2024
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Writing Techniques
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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...
Coming of age is never easy. You might have been the popular kid in school, armed with academic excellence, physical...
Occasionally, tucked somewhere between an introduction, epigraph, and dedication, a book might have a prologue. This is the story before...
The first time you experienced the magic of storytelling, odds are it was a personal story you heard in first...
Picking a perspective is like choosing your weapon before a gladiator match; it limits and defines your style of approach....
Magical realism invites the impossible into the ordinary. This genre asks us to accept the fantastical without question. The supernatural...
Third person omniscient POV offers writers the rare power to see into every mind and move freely across the landscape...
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Hold the Story Loosely
Our idea of the story is never the whole story. The act of writing a novel, memoir, or screenplay is a way
April 4, 2024
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Blog
Humor Is Not About Writing Funny
Humor connects us. It makes us care. I don’t mean one-liners. Humor is not about jokes, but it is about human behavior.
August 18, 2023
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Blog
“Write What You Know” Can Be Misunderstood
Every writer hears the old song: “Write what you know.” This can be misunderstood. The fact is, we don’t write what we
January 27, 2023
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Blog
Asking “Why?”
Always keep your ideal reader close by in your mind asking “Why?” Our subconscious is perfectly designed for this process. It already
September 16, 2022
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Blog
On Writing Dialogue
“If you have a good ear for dialogue, you just can’t help thinking about the way people talk. You’re drawn to it.
June 2, 2022
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Blog
Developing Your Writing Technique
Technique develops over time. By reading and writing, we absorb a sense of story structure, cadence, and rhythm. We learn how
May 20, 2022
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Blog
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
November 19, 2021
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Blog
Make it Dramatic
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” – Alfred Hitchcock Story moves as the result of complications that arise, not
July 16, 2021
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Blog
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
June 10, 2021
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Blog
Finding Your Writing Voice
I work with many first-time novelists, screenwriters, and memoirists, and the question of voice always comes up. “Do you think I have
April 8, 2021
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Blog
Writing Prose
“Prose is architecture, not interior design.” – Ernest Hemingway Our words are in service to our story. When we get too flashy with
September 11, 2020
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Blog
Overcoming Self-Doubt
I used to be amazed at the madness of my mind. One day, I think my writing is brilliant, and the next
March 17, 2020
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Blog
The Courage to be Specific in Writing
Humans are full of paradoxes. We only love to the extent that we hate. We are constantly changing our minds, constantly renegotiating
February 12, 2020
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Blog
Weights & Measures
Proximity Do our characters have to be two thousand miles apart, or three miles apart? If we are trying to convey a
March 12, 2019
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Blog
Simplicity
Forward, he cried From the rear And the front ranks died. Pink Floyd (Us and Them) We can tell a whole
February 8, 2019
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Blog
Staying Connected to the Source
“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination.” – Albert Einstein The rewrite
July 30, 2018
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Blog
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
July 23, 2018
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Recent posts
“How do I begin?” The process of story creation is mysterious. Where do your story ideas come from? From where...
Our idea of the story is never the whole story. The act of writing a novel, memoir, or screenplay is...
Humor connects us. It makes us care. I don’t mean one-liners. Humor is not about jokes, but it is about...
Every writer hears the old song: “Write what you know.” This can be misunderstood. The fact is, we don’t write...
Always keep your ideal reader close by in your mind asking “Why?” Our subconscious is perfectly designed for this process....
“If you have a good ear for dialogue, you just can’t help thinking about the way people talk. You’re drawn...
Technique develops over time. By reading and writing, we absorb a sense of story structure, cadence, and rhythm. We...
There is nothing less funny than writing about humor. I was a standup comic for years. Every once in a...
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” – Alfred Hitchcock Story moves as the result of complications that...
Every writer struggles with getting the story from imagination to the page. The first-time novelist confronts the special challenge of...
I work with many first-time novelists, screenwriters, and memoirists, and the question of voice always comes up. “Do you think...
“Prose is architecture, not interior design.” – Ernest Hemingway Our words are in service to our story. When we get...
I used to be amazed at the madness of my mind. One day, I think my writing is brilliant, and...
Humans are full of paradoxes. We only love to the extent that we hate. We are constantly changing our minds,...
Proximity Do our characters have to be two thousand miles apart, or three miles apart? If we are trying to...
Forward, he cried From the rear And the front ranks died. Pink Floyd (Us and Them) We can tell...
“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination.” – Albert Einstein...
(Image from Life is Beautiful, 1997) If you’re going to write a tragedy, infuse your story with humor. Humor pulls...
