Writing Craft Tips

We’ve reached the end of my short hot writing tips for cold nights (even though those cold nights are still with us, here in Montana at any rate). Today I want to present a final hot writing tip – about the antagonist. Opposites Attract Protagonists in stories need counterbalancing. They need opposing forces, obstacles, difficulties…. Read more »

Plot. It can drive you crazy, especially if you’re a new writer. How many different ways are there to represent plot? Are there plot devices you can lean on every time? Do you Save The Cat? Or do you take The Hero’s Journey? Do you Write From the Middle? Or do you listen to The… Read more »

Welcome back to my writing craft “mini-series”, with more hot tips for cold winter nights! This week I want to look at some macro issues. Why This Book? When you sit down to write, you should always ask yourself “why you are writing this book”. Why not something else? What is important enough that it… Read more »

For this week’s hot writing craft tips, let’s look even more closely and with a sculptor’s eye at words and sentences and paragraphs. Diction and Syntax Diction (word choice) and syntax (sentence structure) are more than just grammar terms – they are the materials writers use to shape thought. By understanding and using how the… Read more »

These small tips are my Season’s Greetings to you all!! And maybe I’m making a small statement about 2020? I hope you enjoy! Conflict and Tension Every story benefits by having high tension and strong conflict. First drafts are generally not high tension drafts – it isn’t until revision that I add as much tension… Read more »

The more I write, the more writing tips I collect. These little tips distill much larger thoughts on the writing craft down to understandable ideas, and I’m going to share a few with you over the next weeks. And if you are on Pinterest, check out my story boards on writing tips (thanks to Deb… Read more »

As promised, I will continue to write about the craft of writing, and share those essays with you. They appear over on Medium, and when I can I’ll post the free-to-read link. If you like what you read there, will you please give it a “clap”? Thanks! World-building This article is the first by my… Read more »

This writing craft tip might feel a little too uncomfortably familiar at the moment. I know a lot of writers right now can’t find focus, and I hear you. Some days it’s like walking through wet cement. Navigating a terrible situation requires processing. I hope this post helps you when you’re ready. Our Stories, Ourselves… Read more »

Continuing the posts from a month or so back, when the world was a different place. But I still want to write, and share craft, so here you go. Finally, a great story – and a great character – need stakes. Stakes are raised through adding tension at both a macro and a micro level…. Read more »

This is the fourth post in my series on character. The External Goal We need to see your character’s internal desire explicit on the page, but your character also needs something driving her forward in the plot, and this is her external goal. The internal desire and external goal are related, of course, but they… Read more »