“Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are so ingrained in our society we rarely stop to think about it. I can write anything I want – dark fiendish plots without fear. I can criticize the FBI, the CIA, the President and Congress without giving it a thought.” – John Grisham   It is challenging ...

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” – Martha Graham   Hi Writers, Technique is developed over time. By reading and writing, we absorb a sense of story structure, cadence, and rhythm; we learn how to create and release tension. We deepen our relationship to our ...

“The past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare When we are stuck, it is inevitably because some part of our backstory is unclear. Backstory refers to what happened before our story began, and is often revealed through exposition. A clearer understanding of our backstory will inform our characters’ present circumstances. The challenge in clarifying backstory is ...

  A picture paints a thousand words. Since a movie is a story told in pictures, a screenplay is the blueprint from which the director takes his cues. It is not the screenwriter’s job to provide camera shots, in fact that is usually the sign of a novice, but it is our job to provide ...

Why do we write? Why do we spend months, years, even decades engaged in the solitary act of creating a world on paper with no assurance than anyone will read it, except perhaps our immediate family, if only to find out what we think of them? Sometimes I hear writers say that they have no ...

“If you have a good ear for dialogue, you just can’t help thinking about the way people talk. You’re drawn to it. And the obsessive interest in it forces you to develop it. You almost can’t help yourself.” –Robert Towne Hi Writers, DIALOGUE The surest way to kill the aliveness of our characters is by ...

“The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.” –  George Bernard Shaw   Every story is essentially an argument that relates directly to the dilemma. Remember that a dilemma is a combination of a powerful desire wedded to a false ...

“I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.” – Plato Hi Writers, In the rewrite, we seek to make our story as dynamic as possible by exploring the various ways our characters attempt to get what they want. Conflict ...

“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson In writing fiction we inevitably come to that moment that is lifted directly from our real life. Fidelity to real life events can create a block in the rewrite. In an attempt to be faithful to the event, we can lose our connection to the ...

“A novel’s whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening, or sharpening what is already written. That is, finding the theme.” – Diane Johnson Where do our ...

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin Good writing is a synthesis of ideas and instincts working in concert. Whenever the writer is bound by either one of these elements, he is out of balance. We ...

“The past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare   When we are feeling stuck, it is inevitably because some part of our backstory is unclear. Backstory refers to what happened before our story began, and is often revealed through exposition. A clearer understanding of our backstory will inform our characters’ present circumstances. The challenge in clarifying ...

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination.” – Albert Einstein The rewrite uses the left and right brain simultaneously. We’re shifting gears between our imagination and our analytical mind. As our story evolves, we begin to see that it’s not precisely the book we’d imagined. ...

If you’re going to write a tragedy, infuse your story with humor. Humor pulls us towards the characters and makes us care. It also ensures that your ending will resonate. Tragedy is not about a death – it is about the context of that death. Tragedy isn’t about someone dying – it’s about a character ...

  Sometimes we’ve written characters that don’t belong in our story because their function is redundant. The character may be engaged in conflict that doesn’t add anything new to the story. In fact, the conflict might distract the reader from what we’re trying to express. If we find ourselves wondering why a character is in ...

“You become a good writer just as you become a good joiner: by planing down your sentences.” – Anatole France   There are no rules that limit the length of a sentence, but when our sentences are strung together by a variety of actions, the sentence can begin to strain credibility. What is wrong with ...

Just because you might be a first-time novelist, it doesn’t mean you’re not the authority over your work. No agent, publisher, or film producer knows more about the inner workings of your story than you. They may have notes, and they may have some great ideas, but none of those notes can be applied if ...

Every American writer secretly dreams of writing the “Great American Novel.” What is the Great American Novel? It’s a book that captures the zeitgeist, that taps into something intrinsic to our national psyche. The Great American Novel is also something that we can only identify in retrospect. What I mean is this: it isn’t possible ...

“Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what happened, but of what men believe happened.” – P.L. Berger In the rewrite we’re like detectives, trying to get to the essential truth of this fictive world we’ve created. Through this process, it’s important to understand that our characters ...

There are as many ways to begin your novel as there are ways to procrastinate. Beginning your novel is easier than you think. All you have to do is sit down, get out a sheet of paper, and give yourself permission to write poorly. Beginning your novel is not an intellectual exercise. Contrary to what ...

One thing readers hate are coincidences. Sure, coincidences occur in our lives every day, but in a story, they are generally a problem. Readers lose interest when coincidence leans in the protagonist’s favor because coincidence or convenience does not convey meaning. It is only through conflict that character is revealed. In fact, readers often perceive ...

Writing your first novel is sort of like, well — there’s a first time for everything. It’s scary and exciting, and you’re not quite sure if you’re doing it right. Here’s something to remember in getting your first novel onto the page. You cannot do it wrong. As a first-time novelist take advantage of this freedom. ...

“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith; Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love.” – Reinhold Niebuhr Whether you’re ...

The journey to becoming a first-time author is different for everyone. For me, it involved letting go of the idea that I’d ever get published. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but to be a first-time author you must write something that no else can write. The temptation to imitate our heroes is one the biggest ...