Three Rumors About Dialogue
Dialogue is one of those tricky things that can make or break your book.
How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending
Author John Irving is notorious for writing the last line of every novel first. What we can glean from this daunting factoid is that Irving has a clear picture of where he wants the story to end up. The work is “simply” writing the book.
Would that we all be so lucky!
The Flip Side: Writing Villain Protagonists
We’re used to rooting for our protagonists. The easiest way to get an audience behind your character is to give them a moral compass that consistently points toward good. But what happens if your main character’s moral compass points in the opposite direction? Or if they have no moral compass at all?
Welcome to the world of the villain protagonist.
Here's What Makes Stories So Powerful
“Once Upon a Time.”
These words are as familiar as ‘Hello.’ As soon as we hear them, we know we are about to be transported to a different world.
But why is that? Why have these words been so ingrained into our very being?
How to Kick Your Story Up a Notch With a Sidekick
Often in stories, the protagonist has a support system (unless your novel takes place on a deserted island and the protagonist is the lone survivor of a terrible plane crash, in which case a volleyball named Wilson will just have to do). These characters can take the form of friends, family, coworkers, roommates, or any other number of relationships, but often they fulfill the role of the sidekick.
What Are Plot Holes and Why Should You Avoid Them
Sometimes when you’re writing, you get so caught up in where your story is going that you’ve forgotten a few details that you previously established at the beginning of your book.
Sometimes those details are smaller, like having a character approach your protagonist from behind when you’ve established that the protagonist is on the top row of the stadium bleachers, and there is no way you can sneak up on them from behind. Sometimes those details are bigger, like a previously-unbeatable monster suddenly being dispatched with ease with a butter knife.
These inconsistencies are called plot holes.
