These, days, writers have to be clever. There are so many guidelines we need to observe in order to make our plots, characters, and narratives as vibrant and powerful as possible. As this series on most common writing mistakes attests, there are so many things we try not to do in our writing. The problem […]
April 8, 2015 by 32 Comments CharactersAfraid Your Book Is Boring? Your Characters May Not Be Doing This One Important Thing
This week’s video shows one of the top reasons it’s possible your book is boring your readers and offers the easy (and fun) solution. Video Transcript: Honestly, I think the single scariest word any reader can apply to our books is boring. It’s the kiss of death. A story can overcome just about any other […]
April 1, 2015 by 50 Comments CharactersShow What Your Character Is Feeling and Thinking (and Do It Like a Writer, Not a Director)
This week’s video offers some thoughts on less-than-effective techniques you might using to show what your character is feeling and thinking and how to avoid falling into the pitfalls of our movie-saturated culture. Video Transcript: True story. My critique partners and editors are always all over me for overusing the words “breathe” and “look.” Like […]
March 1, 2015 by 110 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 39: Referencing Characters by Title Rather Than Name
In the time it takes you to write two small words, you might be dramatically distancing your readers from your story’s narrative. Scared? You should be. But don’t be that scared, because this one of our most common writing mistakes is just as easy to fix as it is to commit. And what are those two small but […]
December 7, 2014 by 27 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 36: Too Much Introspection, Not Enough Interaction
The best character development is often found in the heart of his personal narrative: his introspective observations and reactions to the events of the story. As I’ve preached many a time, if a character’s not reacting to what’s happening in your story, then what’s happening doesn’t matter. But the irony here is that the eternal balancing act […]
November 2, 2014 by 19 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 35: Random Story Elements
Even the simplest of stories aren’t simple. Most of them feature dozens of characters, settings, POVs, themes, conflicts–and on and on. A good story is made up of more working parts than most of us can wrap our little brains around in any one moment. Sometimes all these many working parts of the story can get away from us. […]
October 24, 2014 by 21 Comments Writer's HelpTrouble With Your Latest Story? 10 Ways to Reinvent Your Writing Style
Are you stuck in the writing doldrums? Has your prose become lackluster and stale? If so, it might be time to change up your writing style and infuse some fresh life into your words and stories. Every writer has his own writing style–a particular combination of skills, techniques, characteristics, and practices that develops into his unique voice. […]
October 8, 2014 by 25 Comments DescriptionThe Power of the Senses: How to Fire Up Any Story Description
As writers, it is our job to give our readers a powerful emotional experience, via story description. Many emotions come about because one or more of our five senses has been stimulated, so one way to elicit emotions is to “awaken” your readers’ senses. Sight is probably the easiest sense to incorporate, because when you are […]
September 7, 2014 by 32 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 33: Telling Important Scenes, Instead of Showing
“Show, don’t tell” is arguably one of the most important principles of writing fiction. It’s the foundation of all of dramatic storytelling. “Telling” may get the bones of a scene across. But “showing” is what brings it to life. So it should come as no surprise that failing to show important scenes in your story […]
August 21, 2014 by 3 Comments NarrativeWeather—It’s What Stories Are Really All About
Today, I’m guest posting over on The Writer’s Alley, with the post “Weather–It’s What Stories Are Really All About.” Here’s an excerpt: When I think of weather in stories, I inevitably think of the Peanuts comic strip with Snoopy chugging along at his typewriter, wringing out his famous opening line, “It was a dark and stormy […]
