The Latest
A Few Words More–or Less?
Does the line need a little more, does a description need an adjective, or maybe a little about a thing's sound or motion as well as its...
Everything I know about evil I learned from Thunderbolt Ross
What does a villain want, or what drives character conflict of different kinds? Actually, with so many ways human beings can make trouble, we writers aren't...
Plotting – Divide the Plan by Two
For some of us, writing is a constant study in planning, in looking far down the road of a half-formed story arc or into a set...
What I learned from a Sex Scene – Beyond Any Story’s Details
The most useful writing insight that I ever picked up from the old "Should you write a sex scene?" question has little to do with steaminess....
More than a Scene
It's easy to think of a story's scene as being about the next struggle or problem, or else touching a different base that hasn't been mentioned...
Facing the Blank Screen – the Scary Bicycle
No stalling today--let’s talk about the hard part of writing, the thing that separates ideals from reality and keeps lying in the way of every new...
Viewpoint – In Praise of a One-Lane Street
A good viewpoint character just may be the best friend a writer has. And like most lifelong friends, we may have to warm up to a...
The Toolbox – what goes Around the Words
Choosing the words… picking which shapes to fit around your prose gems to really show them off, and when not to try as hard… It means...
Character-Centered and Plot-Centered – Making Room
“Do you write plot-centered or character-centered stories?” is a favorite question between writers. But it’s usually asked just as a way to insist on strong characters,...
Can A Villain Want To Be Evil? Case study: LaCroix
Maybe the first rule we hear about writing villains is “No villain believes he’s a villain.” That is, in a story or in real life, even...
Options for Suspense – Hitchcock’s bomb
How many ways are there to write suspense into a scene? It’s a major question—especially since really tightening the tension can be some of the heaviest...
Conflict – or How Many Sides to the Dark Side?
Did The Phantom Menace have it right? —Yeah, a cheap shot, nodding some less-than-stellar Star Wars. But if the question is what makes a character evil—or...