Discover Your Work’s GPS
By learning the components of your own work’s GPS, you will be able to generate scenes faster, and more efficiently.
Use Threshold Guardians With Any Plot Structure
Threshold Guardians are found at points of physical, emotional, and intellectual change. They are an archetype from the Hero’s Journey but can be used in any plot structure style and by pantsters too.
Finding Theme Through Characters
You can find your main theme imbedded within your protagonist’s character arc. You can then develop that theme by exploring both sides of the theme through other characters’ arcs, subplots, advice, and examples.
Writing Prompt: “Mourner”
I created this writing prompt, “Mourner” for a reflective scene late in a character arc. Late in an arc, the character may still make mistakes but she realizes the role she plays in her choices. She tries to balance — or even counter — the negative in her life with the positive. Write a scene […]
What Flash Fiction and Stand-Up Comedy Have In Common
No, this isn’t a joke. Flash fiction and stand-up comedy have a great deal in common. For starters, both forms are compact surprises. How do they do this? It’s all in the set-up, the delivery, and the punch. Let’s look at each in turn… The Set-Up The Set-up answers the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, […]
Write Dynamic Character Relationships
For those writers who want to improve (or begin to create) dynamic relationships for their characters, here are 4 points to keep in mind.
Writing Prompt: “Waves”
A writing prompt for the early middle of a book when the character feels like an emotional beach ball trapped on the ocean waves.
