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Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

What are writers chronically short on? Time. There never seems to be enough of it as we try to get the next book written, research our publishing options, keep up…

Personalizing Your Protagonist’s Emotional Wound

June 1, 2023

Personalizing Your Protagonist’s Emotional Wound

June 1, 2023

Emotional wounds are tricky to write about. Abuse, betrayal, victimization, and the death of a loved one may exist in a character’s past and so should be explored, but these are…

Using Wound Categories & Pointed Questions to Identify a Character’s Past Trauma

May 2, 2023

Using Wound Categories & Pointed Questions to Identify a Character’s Past Trauma

May 2, 2023

The wound is a fascinating and vital piece of your character’s past that has lasting, formative effects on who they’ll be at the start of your story. As such, it’s…

What Are Your Protagonist’s Flaws?

April 13, 2023

What Are Your Protagonist’s Flaws?

April 13, 2023

The most relatable characters are ones who mirror real people, meaning they are complex individuals with a blend of strengths, failings, attributes, and flaws. Of these four, flaws are often…

Introducing…The Character Type & Trope Thesaurus!

April 1, 2023

Introducing…The Character Type & Trope Thesaurus!

April 1, 2023

Character building is hard work, and when we see certain types of characters appear again, and again in fiction and film, we wonder if there’s a way to start with…

How to Uncover Your Character’s Deepest Fear

March 28, 2023

How to Uncover Your Character’s Deepest Fear

March 28, 2023

Fear is a disruptive force, even though its job is to keep us safe. When there’s a perceived physical or psychological threat, our brain blasts us with a shot of…

A Gift for You: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording)

December 8, 2022

A Gift for You: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording)

December 8, 2022

This time of year, we usually host a spectacular giveaway called Advent Calendar for Writers, and you may have noticed it’s missing this go-around. I’ll be honest – life’s been…

Writing Antagonists Readers Can’t Help But Like

December 1, 2022

Writing Antagonists Readers Can’t Help But Like

December 1, 2022

There’s a dirty little secret among many of us readers: well-written antagonists get our blood pumping. When a scene come along with them in it, well, we lean closer. Grin…

Use Conflict to Target a Character’s Soft Spots

August 25, 2022

Use Conflict to Target a Character’s Soft Spots

August 25, 2022

Conflict is a key story ingredient, one we need a lot of, but this doesn’t mean quantity is better than quality. Fiction isn’t a video game; waves of bad guys…

Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Religious Characters

June 16, 2022

Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Religious Characters

June 16, 2022

Readers have spoken: they want more diversity in fiction. And writers are stepping up, but it can be hard to write about someone who’s different than you. Careful research is…