Quick, what’s one thing you need in every scene? This question can have a lot of answers – tension, conflict, stakes, emotion, action…on and on it goes. But I would argue one of the most important is one of the most basic: choice. Characters with agency are always doing, acting, and pushing … [Read more...] about How to Draw Readers in Through a Character’s Choices
Search Results for: conflict in every scene
Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Grandparent and Grandchild
Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive … [Read more...] about Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Grandparent and Grandchild
Use Trauma Strategically To Create An Emotional Arc
Many authors give their characters past trauma that makes life more difficult and at the very least adds internal conflict. But are you strategic with the kind of trauma you choose—the severity, the onset, the symptoms and coping mechanisms? What’s the character’s emotional arc and how does the … [Read more...] about Use Trauma Strategically To Create An Emotional Arc
Don’t Let Excess Baggage Bring Down Your Character’s Plane
We’ve all heard that characters need backstory, and in particular, an emotional wound that they’re carrying around when we meet them on page one. (As an aside, if you haven’t checked out Angela and Becca’s Emotional Wound Thesaurus, you’re missing out. It identifies and explores just about every … [Read more...] about Don’t Let Excess Baggage Bring Down Your Character’s Plane
Fight, Flight, or Freeze: What’s Your Character’s Go-To Response?
Fight or flight. I think we’ve all heard the phrase. It refers to the way each person is hard-wired to react to real or perceived danger. Psychologists have recently added another option, giving us three ways we might respond to threats: we fight back, we flee, or we freeze up. This happens in … [Read more...] about Fight, Flight, or Freeze: What’s Your Character’s Go-To Response?
Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Caregiver and Client
Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive … [Read more...] about Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Caregiver and Client
4 Tips for Writing Your Character’s PTSD and Trauma Memories
Trauma: any event that overwhelms our ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, and diminishes our ability to feel a full range of emotions. Anything can be traumatic depending on the individual and what they can cope with. Giving a character a trauma background, having them … [Read more...] about 4 Tips for Writing Your Character’s PTSD and Trauma Memories
Worldbuilding & Setting
Every story will have a certain amount of worldbuilding tied to it, and some will have more than others. Crafting a world that feels realistic, layered, and logical, whether it’s part of our own or one made of your imagination, is a crucial element of storytelling. It's important to plan it … [Read more...] about Worldbuilding & Setting
Show-Don’t-Tell Help
Show-Don't-Tell is one of the most common pieces of advice...so common that many writers get sick of hearing about it: Yeah, yeah, show, don't tell. I got it, I got it. (But if it was easy to 'get' then editors, agents, and critique partners probably wouldn't red pen those three words so often, … [Read more...] about Show-Don’t-Tell Help
Plot & Structure
Your characters may be the heartbeat of a story, but without plot, their life moments can’t be framed meaningfully for readers. Marry plot and character, though, and BOOM! Story magic. Plot and character naturally work together because your story is actually two stories in one: an outer story … [Read more...] about Plot & Structure
Other Story Elements
We know that when it comes to a writer giving out the coveted red rose, plot and character are first to receive one. But guess what? Alone, they won't get very far. A great story is a team effort, so let's look at other key storytelling elements needed for our book to earn a spot on the … [Read more...] about Other Story Elements
Revision & Editing
You finished your first draft--congratulations! One of the best feelings in the world is penning those two magical words: THE END. So what’s next? If the purpose of drafting is to get the words on the page, revision is all about refining, perfecting, and polishing those words to make your … [Read more...] about Revision & Editing