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November 2014
- Want a Powerful Theme for Your Novel? Play Devil’s Advocate!: Favoritism has no place in a powerful theme. Why? Because your readers will sniff it out in a second and instinctively discount your truth a little bit.
- What Is the Role of Theme in a Story’s Climax?: Figure out how theme factors in to your story’s climax, and you’ll have a shortcut to figuring out everything else you need to know about your theme.
- Don’t Know Your Story’s Theme? Take a Look at Your Character’s Arc: Theme isn’t an add-on or a bonus feature. Your story’s theme is its heart, and, as such, it must be all of a piece with your plot and your characters’ arcs.
- How Much Realism Does Your Novel REALLY Need?: Are readers really as interested in realism as we think they are? Or might they be more interested in verisimilitude?
- Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 35: Random Story Elements: Random doesn’t sound so bad upfront. But give this insidious little devil half a chance, and it will unravel your story’s cohesion in the blink of a scene.
