Archive

  • Measure Your Writing: Fewer Words are More than Enough

    Measure Your Writing: Fewer Words are More than Enough

    Image: “Stack of Copy Paper” by Jonathan Joseph Bondhus; licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. So, you’re writing your book. You feel pretty good about it. You got your first draft done, you send it to your beta readers, and the feedback starts trickling in. You take in the criticism and start your second draft. And you… Read more

  • The Rule of Three: A Strange Ingredient for Storytellers

    The Rule of Three: A Strange Ingredient for Storytellers

    Image: “Three wise monkeys” by Anderson Mancini, licensed under CC BY 2.0. What’s the most important number in the world? Let’s count. One … two … three? It’s an odd number to be fixated on. But we are. Look around you. Listen. Read. Everything comes in threes. We love things to be presented in trios. Land, sea,… Read more

  • A Voice of Their Own: Crafting Your Characters

    A Voice of Their Own: Crafting Your Characters

    Stories need characters to be stories. Stories are about people. Whether they be human or otherwise isn’t the point: They are defined personalities with concrete goals that drive the plot. Even a place can become a character in the hands of an imaginative writer. Whatever shape they take, every tale needs characters to be a… Read more

  • The Myth of the Easy Masterpiece

    We’ve all heard the glorious stories of the writer who dashed out a masterpiece over the course of a weekend, solicited it, and made big bucks. Or we hear about someone writing a book for kicks, posting in on Amazon, and suddenly getting offers from film studios to turn their sudden runaway success into a… Read more

  • Planning Ahead vs. Winging It: A Reflection on Writing Styles

    Planning Ahead vs. Winging It: A Reflection on Writing Styles

    Ever heard the phrase “writing by the seat of your pants?” Some writers have a knack for making up the whole story as they go. They start with no outline and no treatment. They just start writing and end up wherever they may. Improvisation is a special skill and can lead to some truly inspired… Read more

  • Why Writers Should Make Their Character Suffer

    Why Writers Should Make Their Character Suffer

    It is my duty as an author to make my characters suffer. I must put them through the wringer, submit them to the lash, and force them to endure severe physical and psychological torment. Nothing must come easy to them. My characters must endure doubts, confrontations, and existential crises. They must be tested to their… Read more