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Writing Craft

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Taken Advantage Of

March 18, 2023

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Taken Advantage Of

March 18, 2023

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health…

Phenomenal First Pages Contest

March 16, 2023

Phenomenal First Pages Contest

March 16, 2023

Hey, wonderful writerly people! It’s time for our monthly first-page critique contest ? This contest is closed. Please try again next month. If you’d like to be notified when the…

Character Arcs: Making a Long Story Short

March 14, 2023

Character Arcs: Making a Long Story Short

March 14, 2023

A well-structured story uses events (also called story beats) to move the narrative forward — with compelling issues, rising stakes, and an organic sense of cause and effect — toward…

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Conditional Love

March 11, 2023

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Conditional Love

March 11, 2023

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health…

What’s the Difference Between an Editor and a Book Coach?

March 7, 2023

What’s the Difference Between an Editor and a Book Coach?

March 7, 2023

If you’re all about Mark Zuckerberg’s famous credo “move fast and break things,” you may feel confident diving from writing into self-revision and then editing. But if you like to…

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Labeled

March 4, 2023

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Labeled

March 4, 2023

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health…

10 Things Lego Has Taught Me About Story-Building

March 2, 2023

10 Things Lego Has Taught Me About Story-Building

March 2, 2023

By P.A. Cornell Writers tend to think of writing as work. In my experience, the creative process is more akin to play. One of my favorite childhood toys for creative…

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Hope

February 25, 2023

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Hope

February 25, 2023

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health…

Four Reasons Your Action-Based Scene is Failing (And How to Avoid It)

February 23, 2023

Four Reasons Your Action-Based Scene is Failing (And How to Avoid It)

February 23, 2023

We’ve all heard the writing advice that our stories must hook readers from the start, and that pacing our scenes so readers stick around is equally important. It’s all too…

Fear Thesaurus Entry: One’s Genetics

February 18, 2023

Fear Thesaurus Entry: One’s Genetics

February 18, 2023

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health…