Authentic characters are key to engaging, accessible stories. I firmly believe in creating compelling characters. So much so, I even created a Teachable course about…
Category: Writing
Sensory details are critical for bringing a story to life. “Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that…
Here are 5 Great Books From My 2024 Reading List (& What Makes Them Excellent Mentor Texts For Writers) In addition to being a…
SHARING OUR WRITING/ART “SPEND IT ALL” “One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose…
Grammar, Punctuation and the Pirate’s Code* What’s the big deal about grammar and punctuation? Why do they exist and what makes people get so riled…
CARTOONS You can learn a lot about storytelling from all types of media, including cartoons. When it comes to cartoons, my tastes run to the…
“I have an idea for a book, but where should I start?” I hear this a lot from beginning writers and I understand how difficult…
You’ve written your draft, smoothed out the rough plot points, developed your characters, and eliminated continuity issues. So, what’s left? How about using some tried…
USING OUR BIG KID WORDS…OR NOT “In good writing, words become one with things.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson One question I get a lot from aspiring…
Fracturing the Narrative One of the biggest challenges that I see when clients are doing work that cuts close to the emotional heart is finding…