Tag: writing tips

Enemy Without a Face: When Dealing With a Different Sort of ‘Villain’

plot twist, writing tips, Kristen Lamb, plot twist as literary device, writing fiction

The enemy without a face is probably the hardest sort for a new writer to wrap his around. For the record, humans don’t do so great with existentialism.

Voice: What is Writing ‘Voice’ & Why is It Important to Storytelling?

Voice is—in its essence—that uniqueness that we as artists bring to the story. Remember, humans relied on an oral tradition for tens of thousands of years. We are a story people. Voice, in my opinion, is a holdover from that oral tradition.

The Villain: Crafting Scoundrels, Sinners & Substance of Legends

All stories require a core antagonist (the force/character that is responsible for generating the story problem in need of resolution). This said, there are many different types of antagonists. While all villains are antagonists, not all antagonists are villains. The villain might only be one of many types of antagonists, but they have a power …

Continue reading

Game of Thrones: A Song of ‘I Literally Can’t Even’

Anger is the emotion we experience when our reality fails to meet our expectations. The greater the distance, the hotter the rage. Ironically, what HBO did right in the beginning is directly responsible for why so many GoT fans are seeing red.

Flawed Characters vs. “Too Dumb to Live”: What Makes the Difference?

Which is more important? Plot or character? To write great fiction, we need both. Plot and characters work together. One arc drives the other much like one cog serves to turn another, thus generating momentum in the overall engine we call “STORY.” Writers have a unique challenge. On one hand we need a rock solid …

Continue reading