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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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Writing Techniques
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Okay, perhaps you’ve been filling pages with scattered notes, and now there’s a growing sense you have a story that...
Audiences love a great plot twist, a thrilling action sequence, or a quiet revelation, but without real character development they...
Previously, I went over third person omniscient and third person limited points of view. There’s one more to consider: third...
Every tool we build changes the hand that holds it, and Character vs. Technology tells the story of that change...
When you read articles on writing, the words “story” and “plot” are often used interchangeably. You’re wondering if there are...
For writers, implying subtext can be difficult, but it is also essential. The challenge lies in knowing what needs to...
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...
Magical realism invites the impossible into the ordinary. This genre asks us to accept the fantastical without question. The supernatural...
A powerful way to shift the perspective of your audience is to employ dramatic irony. This literary device lets the...
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....
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Building Sentences
“You become a good writer just as you become a good joiner: by planing down your sentences.”– Anatole France There are no
July 6, 2018
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Recent posts
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...
“You become a good writer just as you become a good joiner: by planing down your sentences.”– Anatole France There...
