Where’s the conflict in every scene?
The question every author has to answer: where’s the conflict in every scene? As we all know by now, without […]
Character
Posts on writing characters
The Writer and the Moral Compass
The pervasive violence in my fantasy-action-adventure got me thinking about the writer and the moral compass. Death as entertainment, spectacle
Character and the Moral Compass
The pervasive thread of violence in my fantasy-action-adventure got me thinking about character and the moral compass. I know it’s
Want versus Need
In trying to write better characters, it’s taken me a while to define want versus need. Writing coaches bang on
Second Act Pinch Points
From Act One ingenue to Act Three veteran, your second act pinch points are the key. Character arcs simply don’t
The Revelation of Misbelief
Book One stalled for a while because I didn’t know how to handle the revelation of misbelief. In my defense,
The Proactivity Scale
A key question in fiction: where does your protagonist sit on the proactivity scale? Do they pursue goals beyond the
Imperfect Heroes are Better
When it comes to engaging readers, imperfect heroes are better. Put another way, perfect heroes are dull. Imperfect heroes are
What Immediately Matters?
Whatever the genre, the author has to decide what immediately matters. What’s the emotional core of the story? Hold back
Cure Sagging Middle Syndrome
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome? Listen to the audio version on