Category Archives: Uncategorized
Motivation for Character Arc: A Different Approach
When it comes to discovering and writing about your character’s motivation, there are a dozen different methods. We can get there by any number of roads—most of which originate in the planning stage. But what if the key to unlocking … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: A Delay that Makes One Late
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Being Offered an Easy Way Out
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
Why Writers Shouldn’t Query Self-Published Books
Have you self-published a novel you had originally intended to send to literary agents (to see how it did)? Or, did you self-publish a novel, decide that publishing path wasn’t for you, and now want to send that book to … Continue reading
When Telling, Not Showing, Emotion is the Right Choice
Hi everyone! A past resident writing coach is visiting us with an excerpt on a new course she’s teaching on mastering emotions: C.S. Lakin. This post is a touch longer than usual but it will give you a good window … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Losing a Bet
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
How to Craft Engaging Dialogue Exchanges
One of the best places to reveal your character’s emotions is during dialogue. Author Peter Gelfan joins us with some great considerations on how to make these exchanges more powerful, drawing readers in. Read on! Although we like to think … Continue reading
Navigating the Changing Face of Book Promotion with Smart, Effective Strategies
Hi everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying summer and taking time to refill their creative wells. Writing, publishing, and marketing is a lot of work so making time for ourselves to recharge is really important. The other critical thing we … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Being Forced to Move
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
Critiques 4 U!
Happy summer, everyone! Unless, of course, you live somewhere where it’s winter. Angela and I Skype with Lee (who lives in Australia) every other week, and it’s a little disorienting to see him in sweaters while we’re sweating our bits … Continue reading