Schadenfreude is a word that many of y’all might not have heard of, yet we’ve all felt it. Interestingly enough, it can be a great tool to keep our audience interested and breathlessly wanting more. What is schadenfreude, other than a fifty dollar word we can toss around to impress friends and colleagues? Schadenfreude—a combination Read more
Read MoreStakes: How to Hook an Audience All the Way to THE END
Stakes, bizarrely enough, are a key ingredient missing in many stories. If the characters don’t have skin in the game, why would the audience? The bigger the stakes the better the page turner. Whether on the page or on the screen, what keeps audiences enraptured the most? What makes us spend an entire weekend inhaling Read more
How to Build an Audience, No Duct Tape Required
How do we build an audience without coming across as a stalker crossbred with an MLM rep? This is no easy task, especially since most creative professionals don’t exactly shine in this area. Face it. If we’d been good at high pressure sales, we’d be languishing on our yacht along with other people who excel Read more
Read MoreCulture, Conflict & Creating Fresh Stories People LOVE
Ah, culture. One word that can encapsulate so much. It’s nice and bendy, too, which is fabulous for story ideas (or for injecting more conflict in a story that feels flat). Put more than two humans together and somewhere, somehow they will find something to fight about. They might be from the same country, but Read more
Read MoreWounds & Characters: The Damaged REBORN!
Wounds matter in life and in fiction. We’ve all been hurt in some way and to some degree. Just goes with being human. Admitting weakness, failure, mistakes, and flaws isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be downright terrifying for even the ‘strongest’ of us. It’s an especially daunting task in a world that idolizes Read more
Read MoreBad Decisions: The Crucible of Great Stories
Bad decisions make the best stories. If we want to write about people who make the right choices, who plan their work and work their plan, who always keep a cool head, then that is the realm of self-help not fiction. Fiction is about good people—who mean well—doing selfish, foolish or downright dumb things. When Read more
Read MorePerspective: POV Can Revive or Ruin a Story
Perspective is one of those techniques that, I feel, doesn’t get nearly enough credit. Sort of like in theater. All the focus is on the actors and the sets, but no one really gives a fig about the lighting or sound…until someone mucks it up. Right? Whether we are watching a movie, a play, a Read more
Read MoreImposter Syndrome: Am I a REAL Writer?
Imposter syndrome is a feeling very common to many creative professionals, myself included. The irony about imposter syndrome is that it can afflict many hard-working, high-achieving individuals. There is no logical reason for feeling we don’t belong, or that our success is somehow a fluke. It’s bizarre to believe we don’t deserve what we worked Read more
Read MoreWhy is “Suddenly” Everyone on the Spectrum?
A little while back I introduced the Neurodivergent Spectrum, what it IS, and why it could particularly apply to writers and creative professionals. I even revealed some about my life, struggles, and late diagnosis in my post Neurodivergent Authors: Not Lazy or “Broken.” There are many reasons for my late diagnosis, and we will cover Read more
Read MoreThe Johari Window & Character Blind Spots
The Johari Window can be one of many powerful tools for crafting dimensional characters. It can also help creators develop layered stories (plots) that will resonate long after the audience reaches “The End.” Why? Because great fiction is even better therapy. And after the past four years in particular, who DOESN’T need at least a Read more
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