Six Types of Downward Turning Points Downward turning points make failure feel satisfying. March 18, 2022March 17, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Q&A: How Do I Write a Character That’s Smart but Lacks Common Sense? Submitted by Atlas, answered by Chris Winkle March 14, 2022March 10, 2022 in Storytelling
Q&A: How Can My Angry Character Be Likable? Submitted by Murphie, answered by Chris Winkle March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 in Storytelling
How to Create an Unhappy Ending In a truly tragic story, the hero fails because they made the wrong choice. March 4, 2022April 21, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Q&A: Why Are Disingenuous Reveals So Common? Submitted by Kel, answered by Oren Ashkenazi February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 in Storytelling
How to Write Three Types of Friendship Arcs A great friendship can add meaning and emotional depth to your story. February 25, 2022February 25, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Episode 367: Raising the Stakes The story is tense, but could it be... *more* tense? February 20, 2022February 19, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, and Wes Matlock
How to Write Jokes The secret to humor is surprisingly simple. February 18, 2022June 20, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Q&A: How Should My Hero Recruit a Crew? Submitted by Frank, answered by Oren Ashkenazi February 14, 2022February 10, 2022 in Storytelling
Episode 366: Large Casts How many is too many? February 13, 2022February 13, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Tank
Episode 365: Time Travel Revisited We have to go back! February 6, 2022February 3, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Steven
Why Tossing In Calamity Won’t Make Your Story Exciting A lesson in what tension isn't. February 5, 2022February 3, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Storytelling
Outline a Short Story in Seven Steps The second edition of this story formula has more tips, more options, and further reading. January 21, 2022January 20, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Episode 362: Meta Mysteries Our main advice on meta mysteries is: don’t. January 16, 2022January 26, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Jess Brownrigg
How to Keep Your Favorite Character From Ruining Your Story The first step to fixing a candied character is recognizing them. January 14, 2022February 5, 2023 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Q&A: How Do I Establish Backstory? Submitted by Svend, answered by Oren Ashkenazi January 10, 2022January 5, 2022 in Storytelling
How Writing Instructors Forgo the Most Vital Fiction Lesson A gut feeling for stories isn't enough. January 7, 2022December 2, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Commentary, Storytelling
Q&A: How Do I Start My Plot? Submitted by Murphie, answered by Oren Ashkenazi January 3, 2022December 30, 2021 in Storytelling
Episode 360: Backstory How much backstory should your story have? January 2, 2022January 2, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and R. Christian Haining
Q&A: How Do I Give a Damsel Agency? Submitted by Anonymous, answered by Oren Ashkenazi December 27, 2021December 23, 2021 in Storytelling
Oren Ashkenazi