Storyville: Ten Ways to Avoid Cliches and Stereotypes
Ten tips to avoid clichés and stereotypes in your fiction.
The Safety of Transgression versus the Risk of Honesty
Being deliberately transgressive is the safest move a writer can make.
10 Stories We Never Need to See in Workshops Again
A list of the some of the most predictable, clichéd storylines that somehow continue to appear in fiction workshops again, and again, and again.
Ghostly Doppelgangers, Bell-Ringing Goblins, and More Cranky Old Rich Jerks: Get in the Holiday Spirit With Some Lesser Known Dickens
Can't get enough Dickens at Christmas time? Check out his lesser-known holiday-themed works.
Storyville: Happy, Not Sappy
It's not easy to write a happy story that is not melodramatic, but here are some tips on how to get there.
Understanding the Objective Correlative
One way to embed a central theme in a story is with the use of a literary device commonly referred to as the Objective Correlative.
The Art of the Content Edit: 10 Ways To Make Sure You're Doing It Right
By Rob W. Hart
The proofreading phase is when a book gets pretty--but the content edit is when you really bring the story home. Here's how to do it right.
Splat Goes the Hero: Visceral Horror
By Jack Ketchum
Jack Ketchum on violence, pain, and the importance of not looking away.
The Spiraling Narrative
Plots shouldn't unfold with cause-and-effect insomuch as careful repetitions of symbolism and theme. Here's one way you can do this without forcing the story to wear symbolism on it sleeve.
Storyville: Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Where do you get your ideas? Turns out, you can get them just about anywhere. But the best stories tap into your personal experiences and emotional truths.
Change the World: Write Your Manifesto
You are a writer— an artiste! A creator of beauty and meaning. A cultural commentator. A revolutionary!
It's about damn time you wrote your manifesto!
Write What You Don’t Know
Of all the rules that apply to fiction writing, perhaps none is more misleading than the common, banal adage that you should “write what you know.”
The Changing Character
Does a character have to “change” during the course of a story? Do they have to evolve? Or can they continue behaving the same as always, even at the end of the narrative?
Sixth Sense Settings: Writing Rich, Descriptive Scenes
Incorporating tone/mood into your settings for realistic descriptions that keep your reader hooked.
Developing a Theme
In:
Theme
At the core of Minimalism is focusing any piece of writing to support one or two major themes. Learn harvesting, listing, and other methods, after a fun excursion into the spooky side of Chuck's childhood.
Nuts and Bolts -- The Horizontal Versus the Vertical
Every story possesses the "horizontal" movement from plot point to plot point and finally to resolution, as well as the "vertical" development of character, theme, and emotional resonance. Discover Chuck's approach to building a story in layers.
