Note: After all the excitement of launching my new book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs last month, I’m giving myself a little break this week from the usual post and podcast. Instead, I am sharing a fast tip that I hope you will enjoy and find useful! I will be back next week with a brand new […]
July 25, 2022 by 87 Comments CharactersHow to Structure Stories With Multiple Main Characters?
One of the most common questions I’m asked is how to structure stories with multiple main characters. If you have two (or more) characters who are equally important to the story and receive equal POV time, how should you balance them when structuring your novel? At its core, story structure is a simple equation: one […]
February 4, 2019 by 122 Comments Point of View10 Advantages of Writing a Single-POV Story (What I Learned Writing Wayfarer)
Multiple-POV story versus single-POV story? Which is the right choice for you? The answer depends on many factors, since every story is different. Knowing which approach to POV to choose isn’t difficult once you know how to choose. My just-released historical-superhero/gaslamp-fantasy novel Wayfarer was the first ever single-POV story I’ve written. For years now, I’ve consistently been minimizing the […]
December 10, 2018 by 74 Comments How to Become a WriterThe 10-Step Checklist to Writing an Above-Average Novel
“Anybody can write a novel.” Writers sometimes hear that statement from dismissive non–writer family and friends. Rightfully, we dislike the insinuation, since we know full well how much education, talent, skill, effort, and dedication is required for “anybody” to write a novel. Still, there is a certain measure of truth in the idea that “anybody can […]
May 7, 2018 by 56 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 64: POV Problems
POV. Writers can’t live without it. It influences every aspect of story, right down to word choice. But in all frankness, sometimes POV can be a little hard for us to live with as well. The vastness and the complexity of the topic makes it all too easy for authors to accidentally stumble into POV problems. […]
March 12, 2018 by 43 Comments Editing Your NovelHow to Spot and Avoid Self-Indulgent Writing
As writers, we have the opportunity to live lives of creativity, in which we get to craft whole worlds that conform to our every whim. Whether you’re writing your first book or your thirtieth, it’s always going to be a heady experience. But this comes with certain inherent pitfalls. Sometimes all this power can go […]
October 30, 2017 by 45 Comments Writer's HelpThe Great Novel-Writing Checklist (Just in Time for NaNoWriMo!)
I adore lists. They bring order to the chaos of my brain and allow me to rest in the knowledge that even if I don’t remember everything I have to do, the list remembers [spoken in an epic Jeremy Irons bass]. This is why today I’m going to share you with you my ultimate novel-writing checklist—and […]
September 4, 2017 by 43 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 62: Head-Hopping POV
You know you’ve moved beyond recreational storytelling to serious writing the moment you discover you’re hopelessly confused about POV. Other than perhaps show vs. tell, no fundamental principle of fiction dogs writers more than creating a solid narrative—which often begins by understanding how to avoid head-hopping. It happens to all of us: we energetically send […]
August 18, 2017 by 24 Comments Point of ViewMultiple Narrators? How to Choose the Right POV
If you’re writing a multiple point of view novel—whether you’ve got two POV characters or an ensemble cast of POVs—it’s critical you know how to choose the right POV character’s perspective for each scene in your story. This may seem like a no-brainer, something that happens instinctively as you write, but I often see stories […]
May 1, 2017 by 53 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 59: Overly Complex Plots
Complex plots? Good. Overly complex plots? Not so good. Complex plots are the stuff of literary mastery. They can take a story beyond a single dimension into an intricate exploration of life. Dickens, Mann, Eliot, and so many more literary luminaries show us how to do it right. But do it wrong, and what we […]
