Welcome the Characters Who Show Up Too Early and Stay Too Late
Sometimes the most pivotal characters need to be conjured and coddled into the story, under the shadow of misstarts and dead-end plotlines.
Conflict Without Violence: How to Add More Depth To Your Fiction
Violence is fun. But finding other ways to resolve conflict can improve your writing, and turn an average story into one with depth and intrigue.
Storyville: Turning Your Obsessions Into Fiction
Some tips for turning your obsessions—good and bad—into powerful stories.
All Stories Are Existential
By Joshua Isard
The word existential may have, in some contexts, devolved into an epithet for things that seem deep or important, but that’s not really what it means.
How to use Family Dynamics to Bring Your Characters To Life
By C.S. Humble
For author C.S. Humble, one of the most reliable narrative materials to build a story with is family.
What Writers Can Learn From Watching The NFL Draft
Will this article finally bring Sports Twitter and Writer Twitter together? Will the Dolphins draft Tua? Can writers really learn writing tips from watching the NFL Draft?
Maybe: The Empathy-Building Writing Prompt
By Peter Derk
Want to write and live with empathy? Maybe there's a way.
Storyville: The Duality of Strong Emotions
Love vs. Hate. How to employ the duality of strong emotions to improve your fiction.
Are Functional Relationships Ever Interesting In Fiction?
By Peter Derk
Bumper stickers are the right place for "I love my wife." Novels are the place to tell the truth.
Craft A Cozy Mystery In Three Killer Steps
Crafting a mystery series can be fraught with peril, but tackle these three questions and you’re guaranteed to unlock what lies at the heart of the terror.
Storyville: Using Your Family to Tell Dark Stories
Some tips on using the people around you to provide depth, meaning, emotion, and authority in your stories.
Her Dark Materials: Raising Inner Demons To Craft Complex Villains
An analysis of Mrs. Coulter in the recent TV adaptation of "His Dark Materials" shows writers how to craft complex villains.
Tackling the Issue of Consent in Fiction
This article offers authors strategies for exploring the darker side of sex with safety and consent in mind.
Donald Maas and The Emotional Craft of Fiction Writing
By Cina Pelayo
Take your readers on an emotional journey that will stay with them even after the final page is turned.
What Reviewing Nonfiction Taught Me About Writing Fiction
Reviewing nonfiction taught me a few tricks that helped improve my approach to writing fiction.
Tweak Those Boring, Stereotypical White Dude Characters
By Peter Derk
I hate to say it in this context, but you can do better.
Stop Being Lazy and Write Different Types of Characters
Stereotypes are played out. It's time to get REAL and write people the way they actually are.
13 Reasons Why Your Novel Sucks At Diversity
A list of thirteen egregious offenses committed while creating diverse stories, coupled with solutions writers can adopt to approach race or any other minority status with sensitivity and respect.
The Top Three Things Your Character Needs
By Cina Pelayo
Want to write memorable characters? You're going to want to give them these.
So You Want to Write Women
Writing women sounds easy... until you have to make them realistic. How does an author craft female characters that real women can relate to?
Storyville: Living Vicariously Through Our Fiction
Some thoughts on how and why we live through our stories and protagonists.
Is It Really Such A Bad Thing To Give The Audience What They Want?
Fan service is seen as a four-letter word, but that doesn't mean it's actually a curse.
Writing a Novel With Save the Cat!
By Cina Pelayo
The Cat has had its way with the screenplay, and now it has turned its sights on novels.
5 Lessons Fiction Writers Can Learn From Video Games
If you're a writer who likes games and needed an excuse to play more, here it is.
The Great Game of Balancing Character and Plot
It's no secret many "Game of Thrones" fans were disappointed in the final season. But what lessons can writers take away from it?
