Chris is the founder and editor-in-chief of Mythcreants. On the side she also designs, codes, and writes stories. When she manages to escape from chronic workaholism, she likes to drink tea, wear funny hats, pet kitties, and crush her enemies at the game table.
When skillfully done, jokes add a lot of novelty to both light and dark works. However, many storytellers have sacrificed their stories on the altar of comedy. If you’ve got a funny bone, watch out for these seven problems. Read more »
By the power of Latin, I command you! Read more »
How can I avoid frustrating my readers when I show main characters struggling without getting anywhere? I have been thinking about the camping scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; they are super frustrating and unsatisfying to read, but maybe that’s the point? Maybe … read more »
We’ve all heard how important it is for writers to “kill their darlings,” but what does that actually mean? How and when should you do it? Are there any other options? Why is this advice so common? We talk about all those questions and more … read more »
Many of us grew tired of conflicts between absolute good and evil a long time ago. These conflicts often reduce antagonists to caricatures, include dehumanizing stand-ins for real groups of people, and feel too simplistic to be interesting. So, instead, many storytellers have depicted conflicts … read more »
When a hero must face the ultimate challenge. Read more »
I’m interested in writing a female character who is “vain” (i.e. she knows she’s attractive and she spends a lot of effort and money maintaining that), but I want to portray it as a neutral trait or as only a mild flaw (e.g. maybe she’s … read more »
Why is your hero doing what they’re doing? Do you know? Do they know? If not, then you might have a problem with character motivation, but don’t worry, we’re here to help. This episode is all about figuring out what drives your character, what pushes … read more »
Whether you’re avoiding violence, looking to switch things up, or just don’t like writing fight scenes, it’s useful to have options for important conflicts that don’t involve the hero maiming or killing something. To that end, let’s go over some likely contenders. With each option, … read more »
Only the toad knows your true nature. Read more »
