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Character Motivation Thesaurus: Escaping Homelessness

June 3, 2017

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Escaping Homelessness

June 3, 2017

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Theme: The Marrow of Your Story

June 1, 2017

Theme: The Marrow of Your Story

June 1, 2017

If structure is the bones of story, theme is the marrow. Plainly defined, theme is what our stories mean, and it is revealed through other literary elements such as character,…

Why You Should Never, Ever Go On a Destination Writing Retreat

May 25, 2017

Why You Should Never, Ever Go On a Destination Writing Retreat

May 25, 2017

You’ll hear from loads of people why you should travel and go on writing retreats. There are lists, like The Case for Writing and Travel, that say why travel is…

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Discovering One’s True Self

May 20, 2017

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Discovering One’s True Self

May 20, 2017

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Using Real-World Locations to Ground Your Story’s Setting

May 16, 2017

Using Real-World Locations to Ground Your Story’s Setting

May 16, 2017

Last month I went on a writing retreat in Iceland. (Yes, Iceland! In fact, you can learn more about the annual Iceland Writers Retreat here.) It sounds like a remote…

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Caring for an Aging Parent

May 13, 2017

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Caring for an Aging Parent

May 13, 2017

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

A Cheat’s Guide to Writing a Synopsis

May 11, 2017

A Cheat’s Guide to Writing a Synopsis

May 11, 2017

Does the word “Synopsis” make you want to put a screwdriver into your ear? You aren’t alone. Luckily for all of us, we have Sarah Juckes of Agent Hunter here…

Complex Characters and the Power of Contradiction

May 9, 2017

Complex Characters and the Power of Contradiction

May 9, 2017

You’ve likely seen countless posts and resources related to creating great characters, but almost all of them seem to be lacking in one aspect I’ve found to be perhaps the…

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Being the Best at Something

May 6, 2017

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Being the Best at Something

May 6, 2017

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Want to Grow as a Writer? Transform Your Critique Group

May 2, 2017

Want to Grow as a Writer? Transform Your Critique Group

May 2, 2017

My mentor Art Arthur, a successful Hollywood screenwriter for five decades, once told me, “There are four kinds of Hollywood producers: the ones that say, ‘Here’s what I don’t like…