Just like good parents, writers are often certain their stories and characters are the cutest little thing that ever breathed. You may not carry pictures around in your wallet or brag when your baby takes his first steps before the neighbor’s kid does. But you still want everyone to understand how brilliant/brave/beautiful (you fill in […]
March 10, 2010 by 24 Comments CharactersBring Your Character to Life by Correctly Using Show and Tell
As an author, you must walk a narrow line between presenting skillful, competent, admirable characters—and realistically fallible human beings. It’s easy to unintentionally overemphasize one aspect or the other through a poor use of “show and tell.” The result? Readers sometimes end up getting completely the wrong idea about your character. Allow me to demonstrate. How […]
August 30, 2009 by 21 Comments CharactersLearn to Write Dynamic Characters Like Christopher Nolan
You know what they say, “If your character can be himself, he should always be himself. Otherwise, he should be Batman.” But, seriously, tongue-in-check aside, if you want to writing amazing, dynamic characters, there’s actually one very important lesson you need to learn from the Dark Knight. In the 2005 blockbuster hit Batman Begins, Bruce […]
July 12, 2009 by 43 Comments Narrative5 Ways to Use Pacing to Write a Powerful Story
Pacing is like a dam. It allows the writer to control just how fast or how slow his plot flows through the riverbed of his story. Understanding how to operate that dam–how to pace your story–is one of the most important tasks an author can learn. Without this skill, you end up writing stories that variously lack […]
March 22, 2009 by 53 Comments Structuring Your NovelWhat You Need to Know About Writing Novels in the Age of Movies
I have a confession. For someone who spends her time writing novels, it’s kind of a deep, dark secret, so brace yourself. I like movies better than books. Shocking, I know. Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t live without books. I practically breathe books. I gobble more than 100 books a year. Why? Because I love […]
January 10, 2009 by 37 Comments NarrativeNever Name an Emotion in Your Story
Vivid writing demands more than just telling a reader how a character is feeling. Readers don’t care what the characters in your story are experiencing so much as they care what they experience through the characters. But that’s easier said than done! One of the best rules of thumb for showing instead of telling is to never name an […]
July 27, 2008 by 54 Comments NarrativeShowing and Telling: The Quick and Easy Way to Tell the Difference
Arguably the most important rule of fiction is the age-old Show, don’t tell! Sounds simple, right? And yet many inexperienced (and some not-so-inexperienced) writers struggle with this foundational principle of showing and telling. After all, isn’t all of writing telling? Every word we write is for the express purpose of telling the reader what he’s […]
