David Farland’s Hourglass of Evil
Unveiling the Hourglass of Evil: A Powerful Writing for Captivating Storytelling Tool unveiling crack of doom and data storytelling tools captivating storytelling Very often, when you’re preparing to plot a novel and feel bereft of ideas, you can look at other books and find interesting approaches and techniques for storytelling that might be of help. […]
Our Brains on Story
Humans have been telling stories since we’ve had language — in fact, interesting things happen to the brains on story. Since our birth we have been inundated myths, legends, fairy tales, captivating novels and on a historical basis oral storytelling has expanded to print, plays, television shows, movies, video games…. It seems like what changes […]
Six Benefits of Belonging to a Writers Group
What are the benefits to belonging in a good writing group? You may be considering joining one, if you haven’t already. Or, you may be re-evaluating if the one you belong to isn’t providing you with the core things that you need. After all, you have been using your creativity, creating new worlds, people, and […]
The Real Costs of Writing a Book
If you’ve been “bitten by the writing bug” then you are exceedingly aware of the pull to write — even if it isn’t an everyday activity yet. You may be working on a particular story, something that’s been yanking on your imagination for years. Or feeling the pendulum shift from exuberance from creating to the […]
Reeling in Your Reader: The Power of Writing Hooks
Captivating your reader’s attention and submerging them deep inside the story world is one of the universal goals for writing hooks. We want our readers to experience the heart hammering, gasping for breath, sitting at their seat’s edge wondering how in the midnight sky their beloved character is going to escape an impossible conundrum. And […]
Considering Crucibles in Writing
Crucibles in writing force characters together, which can strengthen your story’s conflicts. In everyday life, a crucible is a container used to hold metal or liquid as it boils. For example, to melt gold, one takes a heavy bowl made from steel and sets it in a fire. The steel, which can withstand higher temperatures […]
What Does Your Accomplishment Stories?
As a judge, I’ve just finished my second pass through the Writers of the Future contest accomplishment stories for the first quarter, and several times I have been reminded of something: Your story needs to accomplish a lot. Let me explain. Very often I get good stories that are told pretty well. With beginning authors, […]
Seductions and Promises – Writing Openings
The sweetest thing writers can hear is that our readers missed their bedtime because they couldn’t put our book down. The words on the page seduce the reader to continue flipping and it’s obvious this engagement begins at the story’s Writing Openings and continues. So the question I’m exploring today is what openings do we […]
5 Helps to Get Your Writing Session Started
Get your writing session started, even when you don’t feel like writing, with these five approaches. Sometimes you’re not in the mood to write, but you know that you should. Maybe you’ve set a goal and hope to reach it, or you’re on a deadline. Here are a few strategies that you can use to […]
Dream up Strong Story Ideas
Strong story ideas make strong stories. Is the idea for your story worth writing about? As a storyteller, I make my living as a tour guide of sorts, escorting my audience through vivid dreams. As a guide, I create the setting, with its landscape, history and its wonders. I may suggest entire cultures with imaginary […]