One of the easiest mistakes in writing is assuming stories are about the external action of defeating the antagonistic force, when in reality they are about what the protagonist must become in order to face that conflict. Internal conflict vs. external conflict reveals how your story’s character arcs operate beneath the plot. The tension between […]
May 31, 2013 by 43 Comments Characters4 Ways to Make Your Antihero Deliciously Irresistible
Antiheroes . . . those conflicted souls who pawned their moral compass to buy their next bottle of vodka. There’s nothing heroic about them and for the most part they only care about themselves. So why do we love them so much? Antiheroes are far from perfect, a trait which makes them very real and very human. We […]
December 8, 2010 by 9 Comments Novel EndingsExternal and Internal Conflict: The Killer Combination
A general writing rule of thumb states that every page of your story should contain conflict. But sometimes it can be difficult to think up enough conflict to fill the nooks and crannies. After all, your hero can’t be battling it out with the villain on every single page. So what to do? The secret […]
February 24, 2010 by 35 Comments Characters3 Tips for How to Write a Bad Guy Who Transforms Your Story
Since the whole point of a bad guy is that he’s bad, you’re first thought may be to make your antagonist as despicable as possible. But stop right there. Let me show you how to write a bad guy who’s all the more interesting for not going completely over the Dark Side How to Write a […]
