One of the best things about conflict is that it pushes your characters to act. In every scene, your characters are making choices—big ones and small ones, and thereby steering their fate. Some decisions will be obvious and require little to no thought, but others will be muddier, with no clear … [Read more...] about Force Your Character to Make Hard Choices
Search Results for: conflict in every scene
“No, Don’t Tell Me”: How & When Should We Use Foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is a literary technique we can use in our stories that gives a preview or hint of events that will happen later. While many might think of foreshadowing for mysteries, this literary device can be used in any genre. In fact, most stories need foreshadowing of some … [Read more...] about “No, Don’t Tell Me”: How & When Should We Use Foreshadowing?
Writing Antagonists Readers Can’t Help But Like
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 a little more. Not because we're a bunch of budding psychopaths and this is some alter-ego role play--okay, maybe a little--no, … [Read more...] about Writing Antagonists Readers Can’t Help But Like
The Rural Setting Thesaurus: Graveyard
Sourced from The Rural Setting Thesaurus SIGHTSWrought iron fences and gates, a paved driveway winding between the graves, a chapel, sun- blanched stone angels, carved headstones (marble, concrete, or granite in hues of white, black and gray), a mausoleum, cordoned-off family burial plots, … [Read more...] about The Rural Setting Thesaurus: Graveyard
The Skeleton of Your Story
Think of Milestones (aka story beats) as a human skeleton. The skull, spine, sternum (breastbone), scapula, ribs, and pelvis are vital for life. Without these large bones in place, we’d become a mushy blob of skin, muscle, and meat. Also important is the humerus (upper arm), radius and ulna … [Read more...] about The Skeleton of Your Story
Writer’s Fight Club Story Contest Winners!
Thank you for celebrating the release of the SILVER Edition of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles. Angela and Becca create amazing books—and find fun, generous ways to celebrate. The Writer’s Fight Club Story Contest has been incredible. We … [Read more...] about Writer’s Fight Club Story Contest Winners!
4 Ways Your Protagonist Is Sabotaging You (And How to Fight Back)
We love our protagonists. We spend a ridiculous amount of time, blood, sweat, and tears championing their stories. But what if they’re undermining us by behaving in ways that drive readers away? What if they’re not-so-secretly sabotaging us despite all our efforts to advocate for them? Let’s discuss … [Read more...] about 4 Ways Your Protagonist Is Sabotaging You (And How to Fight Back)
Setting Description Mistakes that Weaken a Story
When you think about the key elements of storytelling, characters and plot immediately come to mind, but what about the setting? Do you view it as 1) a vital story component, or 2) just the place where story events happen? If you picked 1, nice job. If you picked 2, no worries. Go here, scroll … [Read more...] about Setting Description Mistakes that Weaken a Story
9 Tension-Building Elements For Character Dialogue
By Becca Puglisi I’ve been thinking a lot about dialogue lately, because when it’s done poorly, it pulls me right out of the story. There are a lot of issues that contribute to weak dialogue: incorrect mechanics, stilted speech, characters calling each other repeatedly by name (Hi, Bob. Hey, … [Read more...] about 9 Tension-Building Elements For Character Dialogue
Your Novel: Concept to Query in 10 Months
An Action Plan for Actual Humans By Fred Koehler Like almost every other writer I know, I’m not a full time novelist. Publishing is, at the best of times, really slow. In the meantime, kids need braces. Cars break down. The rent doesn't pay itself. And yet, through each of the last three … [Read more...] about Your Novel: Concept to Query in 10 Months
Zig Zag Plot Arc
As writers, the classic arc-plot diagram is burned into our brains. The one conveying that our characters should move through our books in one steady climb, both externally and internally. But what if the visual of a smooth line is sabotaging the way we convey our character’s journey? What if it’s … [Read more...] about Zig Zag Plot Arc
When Are You Ready for Professional Editing?
Many writers equate preparing for a professional edit with revision. We’ll cover a few revision tasks in this article, but revision is only half the battle. Preparing your manuscript is the first part of getting ready for editing. The second part is preparing yourself. Knowing when a manuscript … [Read more...] about When Are You Ready for Professional Editing?