Helping Writers Become Authors

If you are getting reports that your characters are acting out of character, it may be a sign of a deeper problem in your plot, your character building, or your narrative flow.

Find out how to put key minor characters to work in helping you build a more coherent and resonant theme.

Is killing off a character really the best way to serve your story?

Use thse character archetypes to bring full-fledged depth and resonance to both your plot and your theme.

Consolidating the power of your main antagonist into a catalyst for both halves of your story is a powerful way to bring cohesion to both plot and theme.

Weak character voice could be due to the simple problem of too much telling in your narrative.

Never let your character get off easily. If you can hit him from one side, you can hit him from two.

A book is always going to be a tremendous undertaking that can feel more than a little complicated sometimes. But what if we could simplify the process?

Sometimes that will be an easy decision: the right story will be staring us in the face. But sometimes the choices can be overwhelming.

Avoiding under-explanation comes down to a few key techniques.

Three reasons why you should perhaps give up on your story.

If any one of those signs sounds familiar, then you may be robbing both yourself and your audience of the wonderful gift of a mirror.

If you can give your character solid story goals that keep him running through your plot, you will never have to worry about boring readers.

Every scene in every story is an evolution.

As important as it is to create lovable, relatable, fascinating protagonists, it's every bit as important to create antagonists who can stand in your character's way, prevent him from reaching his goals, and, as a result, create conflict.

Ever wonder if you might be doing this whole writing thing wrong? Maybe we would do better on a How-Not-to-Be-a-Writer checklist.

Animate body parts can often rear their ugly heads (pun intended) without our even quite being aware of what is happening.

The tone you choose for your story can make or break your book. It will affect every single page you write. Tone guides readers in figuring how they are supposed to view a story.

Writers have to know their characters down to their cores and understand how to flesh them out in the pages of their books.

Used wrongly or too often, complex prose can create distance between your readers and your words - or, worse, just leave them confused.