When writers come to a dead stop there can be a tendency to panic. It’s important to remember that your idea of your story is never the whole story. When you try to figure it out, you tend to dig a …
Dilemma
Exploring Your Protagonist’s Dilemma
(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “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 …
The Necessity of an Outline
“The outline is 95% of the book. Then I sit down to write, and that’s the easy part.” - Jefferey Deaver Many writers resist story structure because they fear it will limit their creativity and …
How to Master Storytelling: Ask the Right Questions
“It is a parable of art that, to be universal, you must be specific. Otherwise, you are just talking about an abstraction. So you have to talk about a particular person and a particular place. …
How to Master Storytelling: Ask the Right QuestionsRead More
Asking “Why?”
Always keep your ideal reader close by in your mind asking "Why?" Our subconscious is perfectly designed for this process. It already knows the story. Our only job is to remain curious and inquire …
Why Writers Get Stuck
Einstein says, “You cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created the problem.” Writers often get stuck because they believe it’s their job to figure out a solution to …
Outlining: The Dramatic Question
Your characters are a function of the plot, archetypes that constellate around the dramatic question. Story is essentially an argument with the dramatic question being the thesis statement we are …
The Nature of the “Want”
"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction." - Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the "want" in your story, it’s important to understand that you are an artist and you …
How Do You Identify the Dilemma in Your Story?
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify the dilemma in your story? There are two ingredients: A powerful desire A false …
Why Writers Should Embrace Doubt
Doubt lives in each of us. We are unsure about our futures, our relationships, our new tile in the bathroom, our car insurance, etc. Doubt is the cradle of conflict, both internal and external. In the …