How to Create Conflict by Discovering Your Character’s Objects of Desire

How to Create Conflict by Discovering Your Character’s Objects of Desire

Do you know what your character’s objects of desire are? What do they want, and what do they need? And how do you leverage those wants and needs to create conflict in your story?

Writing a great story is a very challenging task. But there are secrets, shortcuts, and techniques that will give you an advantage as you start writing so that every word is focused on the proper goal of your story.

Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid is an excellent place to turn. And in this third post in my series on writing great stories using Story Grid principles, you’ll learn why conflict is the lynchpin of powerful storytelling and how to use it to thrill your readers.

6 Core Questions to Figure Out if Your Story Is Good . . . Or Not

6 Core Questions to Figure Out if Your Story Is Good . . . Or Not

You’re a storytelling genius full of brilliant ideas, right? You don’t need things like “structure” and “rules” to write a good story.

Or do you?

The Six Core Questions of Story Grid identify the fundamental elements of your story. They’ll help you figure out what your story is truly about, and what you need to include in it to turn it into a book readers will love.

4 Character Archetypes Your Story Needs

4 Character Archetypes Your Story Needs

Have you ever read a story that just falls flat for you and you don’t know why? Chances are it was missing one of the archetypical elements our brains are hardwired to seek out in a story. When you sit down at the keyboard, the last thing you want to do is write a story that fails to grab and hold a reader.

Characterization: How to Write a Eulogy to Get to Know a Character in Your Novel

Characterization: How to Write a Eulogy to Get to Know a Character in Your Novel

Every great novel has great characters. Great characterization includes a background, flaws, habits, tics, and redeeming qualities. The characters have a life.

There are plenty of ways to get inside your character’s head. You can journal from their point of view, write a character study, or fill out questionnaires about your character. Those methods are awesome but can seem impersonal or just plain tedious at times.

If you need a quicker, more succinct way of getting inside your character’s head, you might consider writing their eulogy.