Leon Parenzo

Reading should be the cornerstone activity of all those who proclaim they want to be serious writers. I know this might seem like a “No duh” statement, but sadly we live in a world where even the obvious requires unpacking. Believe it or not, I love getting comments for more reasons than my own ego Read more

Writers really are a strange breed and just so y’all know? The normal ship sailed without you a long time ago so relax. Your family or friends might not ‘get’ you but your fellow writers do. I love being a writer. It’s a world like no other and it’s interesting how non-writers are simultaneously fascinated Read more

“Woobie” is a funny word I recently discovered when researching for this post. Funnily enough, the concept of “woobie” is nothing new. As a Gen-Xer, we called these people “emo” back in my day *waves cane.* This character is also referred to as the “Piti Anti-Villain.” They don’t want to be evil, but life has Read more

Anti-villains are a type of character we haven’t discussed before. I’d almost venture to say that—while most of you have heard the term “anti-hero”—you might be a tad stumped on the term “anti-villain.” *does mental gymnastics* *does them too close to curtains* *sets curtains ablaze* Personally, I love learning about and teaching how to write Read more

Pitch your ENTIRE novel, series, whatever in ONE sentence. Yes, it CAN be done. It can be done and it MUST be done, especially for those who want to be PAID to write. If you want to make income from your ideas/writing, you must master the pitch. Why? First, a great log-line (pitch) can help Read more

Change is part of life. Anything that is living, should be growing (or even healing) which means it changes. Only dead things remain the same. This is true with people as well as industries. Last post, we talked about the darkest moment, what it is and why it is so critical to story. It is Read more

Darkest moment is a term you’ll hear a lot, especially when learning how to plot. Last post, we discussed how critical normal world is for hooking the reading audience early, then never letting go until THE END. Every piece of the “plot” serves a critical function and understanding that function, I feel, makes us better Read more

The beginning of any story is, by far, the hardest part. Well, except for that sticky middle pain in the @$$ ACT TWO that goes on FOREVER. Total nightmare not getting stalled there. Then, we need to make sure to knock it out of the park at the END lest readers curse our names for Read more

“Real” writers (and critics) know a lot of things, but one thing they know is genre. And whatever genre you’re writing—for the record—it is probably stupid. Last post, I made a joke about what makes us “real writers,” which is a notion that has cracked me up for at least fifteen years. Writing, for some Read more

Aspiring writers. There are so many out there. MILLIONS! BILLIONS (if we count bots). I just returned home from the Idaho Writer’s Guild Conference, where there were rooms and rooms full of aspiring writers. Since y’all weren’t there, now it is your turn. I want anyone who refers to themselves as an aspiring writer to Read more