Long-running story tropes become long-running for a reason, but what if more was possible? What if we could reach outside the familiar and tell different kinds of stories? Not only would we get to experience something cool and different, but we might even make stories … read more »
Very few people set out to write a bad story. That’s a large reason why high-profile story bumbles by renowned storytellers draw so much attention from both fans and critics. These usually elicit an understandable combination of public anger, amusement, and disbelief. Traditionally, bad stories … read more »
Speculative fiction writers argue about a lot of things, but I think we can at least all agree that what we’re writing is fiction. It’s literally in the name – who’d try to deny that? Well, a surprising number of authors will, with a perfectly … read more »
Some stories have an overall mood that’s light or even cartoonish, yet feature gratuitous slaughter and suffering. I’ve previously described stories with this type of tonal dissonance as “slathered in grimdark sauce.” While grimdark sauce makes a story feel immature, this isn’t a problem that … read more »
If the audience can’t stand your main character, then they probably won’t get very far in the story. We call this critical factor a character’s “likability.” We’ve previously described how you can make your character likable by giving them sympathetic, selfless, and interesting traits. But … read more »
Hello! I’m writing a fantasy story where large parts of the story are dedicated to the romance between the main characters, but the protagonist is averse to emotional closeness. So when feelings start to develop it’s the love interest that pursues the relationship, with him … read more »
Many storytellers want their stories to say something meaningful, but fail to communicate that message successfully. This usually happens because the storyteller is futzing over the gift wrap while neglecting what’s in the box. Like anything else important, messaging has to be built right into … read more »
Years of daydreaming and obsessing over ideas can leave us with so much background information that it becomes difficult to tell a concise story. If you include too much history, your story will be an overburdened mess. Even so, your story will probably be better … read more »
Dear Mythcreants, After getting frustrated by media stereotyping and belittling of female anger, I’m currently creating a female protagonist with anger as a deep motivating factor. Her arc centers on learning to harness her anger positively. The emphasis is very much on the management part … read more »
Storytelling has rules, and the best way to tell good stories is to learn those rules so you can apply them to your own work. At least, that’s what we’d say if we were total squares who wanted to crush storytellers’ beautiful free spirits! Sure, … read more »
