We'll send our best work every month.
It’s time for I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.* The cover I have looks like it was made after the film adaptation. It has cinematic shots of three beautiful people staring intently out at me, a big shiny blue light, a huge explosion, and … read more »
Ariel, Chris, and Oren describe the difference between showing elaborate spectacle and simply telling what happens. They discuss how showing can invoke deep emotions and contemplate when telling is warranted. Listen to hear how writers enhance storytelling with showing and telling. Read more »
Using the right viewpoint character can give your story a big boost. But all too often, writers choose viewpoint characters that turn their narration into an uphill battle. Whether you’d like to supplement your hero’s viewpoint with visits from side characters, or you’re unsure of … read more »
Wizard’s First Rule is the first book in The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. It’s massive, bigger than any other paperback I own. On the cover, a guy beckons to a woman wearing a dress that is clearly impractical for a walk in … read more »
Vast literary realms are afflicted by a writing perspective with dull personality and chafing restraints. This perspective is called distant limited, and it is pervasive because it goes unexamined by many writers. Once you recognize this malady, you can choose the writing style your work … read more »
Chris, Ariel, and Oren discuss transitions in writing and other media. They describe what transitions need to accomplish and various techniques for transitioning between scenes. While they’re at it, they debate whether Harry Potter should have died … Read more »
The perfect opening line embodies the magic of authorial voice, blended with heartfelt experience, stirred with striking prose, shaken with a mysterious essence beyond our comprehension, then poured carefully over ice. Just kidding. Read more »
Many stories depend on fight scenes for action and excitement. Storytellers are used to watching marvelous fights on screen, but that doesn’t tell us how to make combat riveting with our words. So it’s no surprise Ellie sent us this question: I was wondering if … read more »
I’m about to open Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000, published in 1982. It’s by Ron L Hubbard, the guy who founded Scientology. On the cover, a muscled barbarian dude simultaneously fires two laser guns to either side, while he willfully looks at … read more »
Not just anyone can take up the noodle and produce art worthy of recognition. If you wish to be a genuine macaroni artist, you must live by these immutable laws of creative mastery. To do otherwise is to allow the craft to be infiltrated by … read more »