Category: Character

Fight Scenes: Deep Cover & How to Write the Good Fight

If we can stab with it, it’s a weapon. If we can jab with it, it’s a weapon. If we can use it to hit someone, it’s a weapon. If we can throw it, it’s a weapon.

Characters: The Emotional Touchstone Readers Crave

All stories are human stories, whether in space or in a magical realm. Characters (should) endure the same trauma and challenges that audiences do in life. This mirroring gives us (readers) a safe place to feel and process our emotions.

EVIL: Our Love-Hate Relationship With Mischief, Mayhem & Destruction

Good stories make us think, talk, question, examine, and reexamine not because the writer wrote a glorious description of a moonlit night, but because the writer posed questions not easily answered.

Transformation: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Transformation is an integral part all great stories. The trick, however, is to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to show how a character has either progressed or regressed. Few things can be more disappointing than reading a story where SUDDENLY, POOF! The MC has some grand epiphany at the end how they really needed to change in order to win.

Holding Out for a Hero: Tips for Building a Protagonist Readers Will LOVE

Humans are a story people, meaning we all share one thing in common—we LOVE a great hero. Yet, crafting a hero isn’t as simple as one might think. In fact, new writers generally serve up a ‘hero’ too soon. They fail to understand that the title—HERO—is something that must be earned.