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Episode 211 - How to have fun while writing.
Sometimes writing can be a grind. Here are things that are fun while writing that'll give us energy and keep us at our desks and allow us to pour joy into our words. Also: we should avoid vanilla, meaningless word packages. And here's how K
Episode 210 - Timeless plot patterns.
Folks new to fiction may think because there are a million stories and dozens of genres, plots can be presented in any way imaginable. But successful plots have time-tested patterns, and these are discussed here. Plus, M.M. Kaye's lovely se
Episode 209 - Avoiding blunders in our story.
How and why should we avoid our character traveling? And how does Orson Scott Card not make blunders in his novels? Here is his tool for having a mistake-free novel. Also: here is why our scenes--almost all scenes--should have some action,
Episode 208 - How to paint pictures with words.
Writing is magic. We type on a keyboard, and then the words we type create powerful images in readers' minds. Here is a discussion of our main tool for creating vivid images: detail. Which details, how to use them, and examples from a detai
Episode 207 - When the hero lies to the reader.
Sometimes an unreliable narrator can be great fun to create, and great fun to read about. Here are techniques for developing a protagonist the reader learns not to trust. Also, how can we avoid dull interior monologue and instead show reade
Episode 206 - How to get lots of plot ideas.
Novelist John D. McDonald said he had more plot ideas than time to write them. That's not the case for most of us writers. We usually are in chronic need of more plot, more story. Here are techniques for inventing plot from James Scott Bell
Episiode 205 - How to stop stalling and get going.
Sometimes we are full of ambition to write. Yet we don't. We put off our writing, then put it off again. Why do we do that? And what can be done to get us in front of the keyboard? Here are thoughts on what we can do to get us producing. Al
Episode 204 - Meaningless modifiers and what to cut.
Some words don't add anything to a sentence other than confusion. Here are several modifiers that our story is better without. Also, is cutting ten percent of our manuscript a good goal when editing? What should we cut to reach that ten per
Episode 203 - Argument makes our dialogue riveting.
Dialogue lets the reader become part of the story, as if the reader is standing next to the characters listening to them talk. Not all conversation between characters is equal: argument is the most engaging dialogue. An argument between cha
Episode 202 - How to have fun while writing.
Writing fiction is work but it doesn't need to be a grind. Here's how we can have fun while we write, things that'll give us a joyful kick, maybe even make us laugh. Also: the important technique of the mini-backstory, which reveals so much
Episode 201 - A formula for strong sentences.
Physics loves formulas: E=MC2. How about writing? Here is a formula for writing strong sentences, ones that are clear and have energy. Our setting and character descriptions can also benefit from a formula, one that shows how to engage the
Episode 200 - How can we know if we can write?
Do we have the skill to write a novel or short story? Here are early clues that may let us know. Also, top writers' ten best rules of writing. And J.R.R. Tolkien's techniques for writing fascinating settings. Here is a 20-episode master cla
Episode 199 - Writing a scene with many people and lots of motion.
Sometimes in our story we'll have a scene filled with people where everyone is moving all at once, such as a battle scene or mob scene or festival scene or street scene. Here are techniques on crafting the scene so there's no confusion so r
Episode 198 - A big way to make our dialogue riveting.
Readers love dialogue, the chance to eavesdrop on the characters. Here is a good way to make that dialogue really worth listening to. Also, here are techniques that can tie our scenes together, which Jack Bickham calls transitions and seque
Episode 197 - That odd little thing for our character.
How can we make our character memorable for the reader? How can we make the character leap off the page and stay in the reader's memory? Here's how Sherwood Anderson did it. And here are also character descriptions from another master, Will
Episode 196 - Importance of the character arc.
Readers want a character who can grow and change over the course of the story. Here is a discussion of the character arc: how we can use the arc to develop our character and the plot, giving the reader the big reward at the end of the story
Episode 195 - The adopt a dog technique.
One of the best ways to have readers like our story is to have readers like--maybe even love--our main character. But we usually don't want our protagonist to be a Pollyanna, always sweet and understanding. Rather we want to create a fully-
Episode 194 - How to invent a strong plot.
We want to write but we don't have our story fully figured out. What can we do? Here are thoughts on inventing plot, things we can do to shake loose the plot from our brains. Also, the techniques of a master of character description: Margar
Episode 193 - Plotting: go big or go home.
Fiction's job is to entertain. A main way to entertain is to be bold with our plot. Here are thoughts on how to avoid the dull in our plot and how to create a story that keeps readers turning the pages. Also, how to invent strong metaphors
Episode 192 - Plotting: the importance of conflict, crisis, resolution.
In fiction in all genres only trouble is interesting. How do we writers use trouble in our story? Here are thoughts on how we can plot using conflict, crisis, and resolution, a technique important for all genres. Also, should we use beta re
Episode 191 - Do we know enough to write the first sentence?
When do we know enough writing techniques to start our novel? And when is the story ready to be written? I'll try to answer both questions. Also, how do great writers describe a character's appearance in ways that reveal the character's pas
Episode 190 - The right way to leave red herrings.
Red herrings--false clues--are used in most all stories in all genres. Here are the right and wrong ways to insert red herrings into our stories. Also, here's how we can show--reveal--much about a character by describing a setting. Here is
Episode 189 - Start as close to the end as possible.
Kurt Vonnegut said we should "Start as close to the end as possible." What did he mean? How can we do so? Here are thoughts on this famous piece of advice from a legendary novelist. Also, avoiding the word "not" to give our sentences more e
Episode 188 - How to make our writing fun.
Is your writing time becoming a grind? If so, here are some things that may reduce the grind and maybe even make writing fun. Also, here are thoughts on how we might write a sentence that is a timeless truth told in lovely language, an immo
Episode 187 - Giving readers what they want.
We writers should consider giving readers what they want. Well, what do they want? Here is a discussion of the five things readers want in a novel. Also: the dual timeline plot structure. And F. Scott Fitzgerald's seven tips on writing. Sup
Episode 186 - Showing--not telling--what a character is thinking.
Thoughts are interior, in our minds. But there are ways to show--to give evidence--that reveal to the reader what our character is thinking. Also, here is an important ingredient that many writers forget when describing a character. Here is
Episode 185 - The keys to musical writing.
The three most important words in our fiction are, "Story, story, story." But we can also shoot for lovely, musical language that makes each sentence and paragraph a pleasure to read. Here are thoughts on how to add music to our sentences.
Episode 184 - Skipping the dull stuff in our plot.
In his famous ten rules of writing, Elmore Leonard says that we shouldn't write things readers tend to skip. What are those things? How can we avoid writing them? Also, should our story have theme and, if so, how can we present it? Here is
Episode 183 - A key to making our sentences forceful.
What do Ernest Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, and Elmore Leonard have in common? Powerful stories, yes. But also lean and forceful sentences. Here's how they do it. Also: in our plotting,what's an acceptable coincidence and what's a weak, stor
Episode 182 - Things to think about as we write the end of our story.
After months and month if writing, we'll near the end of our story. Our novel is almost finished. Here are things we should consider as we wrap up our story. Also, for many of us editing our own story isn't as fun as writing. Here are thoug
