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words

A Few Words More–or Less?

Does the line need a lit

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 shape? It al


Everything I know about evil I learned from Thunderbolt Ross

What does a villain want,

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

plotting

Plotting – Divide the Plan by Two

For some of us, writing i

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 of possibilities and de

bridge

What I learned from a Sex Scene – Beyond Any Story’s Details

The most useful writing i

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. (Yes, th


More than a Scene

It’s easy to think

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 in a w


Facing the Blank Screen – the Scary Bicycle

No stalling today–l

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 p

viewpoint

Viewpoint – In Praise of a One-Lane Street

A good viewpoint characte

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 few inconveniences an

toolbox

The Toolbox – what goes Around the Words

Choosing the words… pic

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 juggling par

character

Character-Centered and Plot-Centered – Making Room

  “Do you write pl

  “Do you write plot-centered or character-centered stories?” is a favorite question between writers. But it’s usually asked just as a


Can A Villain Want To Be Evil? Case study: LaCroix

Maybe the first rule we h

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 the peopl

the Hitchcock bomb

Options for Suspense – Hitchcock’s bomb

How many ways are there t

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 he


Conflict – or How Many Sides to the Dark Side?

Did The Phantom Menace ha

Did The Phantom Menace have it right? —Yeah, a cheap shot, nodding some less-than-stellar Star Wars. But if the question is wha