Haunting Your Character with a Ghost (or Wound)
In storytelling, a character’s ghost is a past, significant (and often traumatic) event that shaped his worldview in a thematic way. It prepares the character arc and works as a motivator. Choose the appropriate ghost for your character and learn how to reveal it to the audience. It’s finally the month of Halloween! And if […]
Writing with Emotional and Intellectual Payoff
Writing with emotional and intellectual payoff not only draws in readers, but keeps them turning page after page. There are several types of emotional payoffs, as well as intellectual payoff, that are very effective when used appropriately. Writing with Nostalgia Some stories gain power by tapping into the emotions that we felt at a particular […]
Writing Powerful Scenes, Part 1
How To Write Powerful Scenes A story is made up of both large components, such as try/fail cycles and denouements, and small components, such as scenes and sentences. In order for your story to be strong, you need to write strong scenes. I’m in the process of taking a screenplay from outline to first draft, […]
Fantasy and Our Modern World
Fantasy and Our Modern World: A Few Observations The first truly modern fantasy work was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. That’s not a statement that very many critical theorists can dispute. But what is fantasy, and how did Tolkien make it “modern” and what does it mean for us today? Fantasy is […]
Guest Speaker Dan Wells on Apex Writers
Come listen to Dan Wells talk about writing advice and his career as a New York Times Bestselling Author for his books!
Religion in Fiction
Certain works of fiction are designed to appeal to readers with strong belief systems. But not all “religious fiction” need be religious.
Refining Your Tastes
There is a danger in exposing yourself to too much vapid art. It can weaken your judgment and erode your sensibilities, until the time comes when you see things that are merely passable, and somehow think that they’re good.
Showing, Telling, Making
the adage “Show, don’t tell” is used to beg for more information. Yet I’ve always felt that that advice is . . . imprecise.
Spectacular Settings
When I’m looking at a story, one of the simple things I look at is setting. There are so many aspects to setting, so let’s just look at a few
Being Prolific
How to make a living as an author. Being prolific is not something I think about, but it is something I can teach.
