Writing Process
Falling Out of Love: How to Write Realistic Breakups
I love stories that end with happily ever afters, but sometimes, what is true for your characters and what serves your story best is the breaking down of a love story. And a love ending can be just as powerful as those romances coming to fruition. When writing...
Build Amazing Worlds with these 5 Digital Resources
Here’s a quick and easy round-up of 5 digital world-building resources that’ll make creating your narrative worlds fun while staying organized. These resources are ideal for fantasy and sci-fi writers as well as those crafting historically influenced worlds that are...
Use these 4 Moments to Write Authentic Romantic Relationships
Not every story needs an attention-grabbing romance, but for some books, it’s essential to the plot. A romantic relationship, when executed well, can add depth to your protagonist’s internal and external arcs. The emotional stakes of falling in and out of love will...
Write Powerful Subplots and Secondary Characters with Story Genius
If you’ve been following this three-part series, you know that Lisa Cron’s Story Genius is a valuable book guiding writers through the scene card process. Post one was all about getting to know our protagonist before crafting the story. In post two, we finally broke...
How to Write Scene Cards Using Lisa Cron’s Story Genius Method
Lisa Cron’s Story Genius guides writers through the scene card process. Her method differs from traditional outlining, where writers plot every external event that will occur in their story. These scene cards focus on your protagonist's internal evolution. To craft a...
What You Need to Know About Your Protagonist Before Writing Scene Cards (Inspired by Lisa Cron’s Story Genius)
Story Genius by Lisa Cron guides you through developing a character-driven story with scene cards focused on your protagonist’s internal conflict. It takes everything we’ve learned about writing, reminds us what doesn’t work and emphasizes that readers stick around...
6 World Building Mistakes Writers Should Avoid
Poor worldbuilding can weaken your plot. It affects readers’ ability to immerse themselves in your story and character development. While character growth should not hinge upon external events alone, the world that they live in will naturally influence their journey...
Understand the Writer’s Journey: 4 Lessons from Thunder and Lightning
Natalie Goldberg’s Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft is a meditative look at the writer’s journey. Do not come to this book expecting a series of concrete strategies and resources for writing well. You will need to look beyond the surface. Read...
How to Write Authentic Platonic Relationships in Fiction
Platonic relationships are just as crucial to our stories as romantic relationships or tension between protagonists and antagonists. They can provide points of conflict and growth for our main character, give them a realistic support system, or mirror their journey....
Worldbuilding for Writers: How to Create a Believable Setting
Worldbuilding provides a backdrop for your characters to play in and the rules by which your world and all of its characters are held. This world can be a source of conflict. Your world enhances the story’s believability as readers immerse themselves in the external...
