Writing, as an act of personal creation, tells us things about ourselves—but if we’re hiding behind our writing, it may also reveal what we’re afraid to face. That can be scary! Even scarier, writing will tell others things about yourself. Every word you write becomes your testimony of yourself to the world. Putting your heart […]
December 19, 2012 by 9 Comments CharactersWhat’s the Most Important Moment in Your Character Arc?
Character and change. This is what story is all about. You take a handful of people and you force them onto a journey that will change them forever, usually for the better. This is character arc. If your characters are following a Positive Change Arc, they will start out less-than-fulfilled, perhaps even personally stunted. They […]
November 7, 2012 by 13 Comments CharactersHow to Write Sympathetic Characters
One of our most critical jobs as authors is creating sympathetic characters. At first glance, this may seem like a no-brainer. After all, most of us write our stories based on our love for the main character. However, as was reinforced to me while writing this book, there are several levels of sympathetic characters. First, we have the characters […]
September 9, 2012 by 85 Comments Writing Life10 Excuses for Not Writing – and How to Smash Them
Writers are masters of excuses. We come up with all sorts of awesome reasons we should do be doing everything but writing. If most of us were half as good at writing as we are at excusing ourselves, the world be blessed with landslides of great literature. So today, let’s consider ten excuses for not writing, […]
October 30, 2011 by 46 Comments Writing Life10 Steps to Bust Through Writing Fears
Which is scarier—writing or lion taming? At first glance, that seems to be a no-brainer, doesn’t it? After all, how can sitting at your computer in your slippers compare to putting your head into a 500-pound carnivore’s mouth? But, actually, the life of a writer is fraught with writing fears. We writers are afraid of […]
