Wants, Needs, Fears and Misbeliefs
Four essentials of character will inform the character’s arc or transformation: wants, needs, fears and misbeliefs. More than the simple […]
how-to
Three Plots Make One story
Mastery of plot structure isn’t about a single thread, more like three plots make one story. So says writer and
The Choices Characters Make
Engaging stories come out of the choices characters make. Or as Sue Brown Moore advocates, never stop asking ‘why?’ Listen
Internal versus External Plot
What really makes a story is the interplay between internal versus external plot. I upset some folks when I say
Return of the Crutch Words
The next round of editing, and I encounter the return of the Crutch Words. All of those verbal ticks, habits
The Author as Translator
A revelation about my fantasy series: I’m the author as translator. Put another way, my characters don’t speak English… Listen
The Prose that Defies Editing
For me, the hardest part of writing fiction is fixing the prose that defies editing. In my head, my prose
Seven Key First Chapter Questions
Abigail Perry’s Seven Key First chapter Questions are touchstones. They apply not only to opening chapters, but to every chapter
Abandonment Issues and the Feisty Heroine
I realise I have two common themes in my fiction: abandonment issues and the feisty heroine. This feeds directly into
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