Writing dialog can feel deceptively simple. After all, it's just people talking, right? But in far too many stories, characters are recapping the plot or revealing too much of what they're thinking or feeling. The dialogue is pure exposition, d...

Writing your story setting requires more than just pretty language, and does so much more than provide the physical setting. It anchors the reader in time and place while immersing them in a tactile sensory experience in every scene. <...

Revising a first draft can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? What do you cut? How do you keep your original vision alive How do you take all the moving parts and refine it into a more coherent, effective whole? In th...

Retrospective narrators have the power to tell your story with both raw immediacy and hard earned wisdom. This narrator doesn’t just recall the past – he or she reinterprets it.What makes it tricky is that you’re not just telling the sto...

There’s something captivating about seeing a story unfold through a child’s perspective. Child narrators strip away the layers of adult logic, cynicism and pretense, revealing raw wonder, confusion or even unexpected wisdom.But writing f...

The unreliable narrator is one of the most powerful storytelling techniques. Whether you're writing in first-person or third, an unreliable narrator compels readers to interpret what's happening, looking for clues that reveal the truth beyond t...

First person narration puts readers directly into a character's head, creating an intimate and immediate experience. This perspective allows for deep emotional connection and personal stakes. But it also comes with unique challenges.In t...

Your opening scenes are valuable real estate. You don't want to squander them on anything mundane or extraneous.Many writers start way too early in the story, often giving the everyday details of their character's life. Or they spend too...

Ever wish you could expand time and give more energy to your writing? In this episode, you'll learn about two types of time - one that restricts time and one that expands time. We'll also talk about how to manage common distractions, and what i...

When is it a good idea to write from multiple points of view, rather than one point of view? And how do you do it? In this episode, I'll cover 4 reasons to use multiple points of view, how to write them, and common pitfalls to avoid.

What do you do when you're stuck in a scene, or you know the scene isn't working, and you just don't know why or how to move the scene forward?  In this episode, we'll go over three reasons your scenes are stalling and what to do instead.&...

Now that we're in a brand new year, it's a good time to reflect on what worked in the past year, what didn't work, and most importantly, what we can do differently to move the needle forward in 2025.Time is a precious resource, so we do...

You’ve lost motivation and may even have stopped writing altogether. So how do you get your mojo back so you can bring your work in progress to the finish line?In this throwback episode, we'll explore 5 reasons our motivation fiz...

Getting results in our writing is great. But a result-oriented mindset can hinder creativity and authenticity.In this throwback episode, you'll learn how to evaluate your work based on 2 important qualities: presence and truth.

The most common struggle writers have when writing a novel is structure. Both plotters and pantsers get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of material and ideas they have about their story. Invariably, the story becomes unwieldy and falls apart....

Why do we read stories? And why do we write them? We'll uncover the irresistible pull stories have on us, and why your story matters to those who read it. But in order for your story to matter to readers, it must matter to you first. So in this...

Keeping your story grounded in time balances the pace of your story and helps readers navigate your character’s journey. But how do you show the passage of time in your novel without jarring, or worse, boring your reader?In this episode,...

Well, it's officially gift giving season, and your family and friends might be asking, “What do you want for Christmas?” Maybe you have a writer in your life and you want to get something special, and you’re wondering, What woul...

Cause and effect is one of the major tenets of a cohesive plot so everything is knit together to shape your story. Every cause leads to an effect. It's often described as a chain reaction. One event leads to another, and another...

How do you build character into the structure of your story? What's the story beneath the plot?Structure alone won't create the energy and  momentum a story thrives on. There's the story underneath driving the plot, and that's all ...

Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life. But it's fatal in story. You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold -  when there's nothi...

How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing?How do you surprise us?In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi-dimensional and complex, even i...

If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences?A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone articulate it.When there’s no c...

First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations. Sometimes first-person characters merely report the action without interesting contrasts betwe...

When reading fiction or a memoir, a reader's brain actively simulates the experience of the characters. The reader becomes so absorbed in the story, they experience it as though it's true. They believe in it. But before a reader can bel...