Helping Writers Become Authors

Learning how to identify plot devices and fully support them on every page of your story is a huge step toward writing cohesive and resonant fiction.

Six tips for how to write interesting happy scenes that will become some of your readers favorite moments in the story.

Understanding some of the main types of scenes can help you recognize which choice is right for your story at any particular moment.

Understanding what your character fears can offer significant insights into your story and its underlying themes.

Learn how the Lie the Character Believes is a gauge of the character's relationship with reality--and how to use it to upgrade character arcs.

Writers can find value and nuance by digging deeper into the functionality of these four terms in answering: "What does your character want?"

All four terms--Ghost vs. wound vs. Lie vs. weakness--refer to a pain point for your character. Here's how to understand the nuances.  

Join me for a peek into my daily routine as a full-time writer!

How to transform imposter syndrome for writers from an enemy into a tool for growing yourself throughout the journey of the writing life.

Here are five places in your story where you can use your character's shadows to create amazing complexity and thematic resonance.

"Shadow theory" is one of the most intuitive tools a writer can use to identify the contrasting elements that create complex characters.

Four reasons why the dismissive statement "it's just a story" is not only erroneous, but one of humanity's most the dangerous lies.

Step-by-step guide to finding the right book cover designer, preparing for the design process, and achieving an effective collaboration.

Discover the versatile and effective technique of the backstory drip by learning four techniques for revealing backstory in your story.

Backstory techniques are crucial to the success of any story. Backstory-as-story and alternating timelines are two possible approaches.

Learn how to use four specific backstory techniques to share character histories with your audience, starting with prologues and flashbacks.

When "good writing" strikes its steel upon the flint of archetypes, there is a sudden unity of truth between author and reader.

Learn how organic themes arise from plot (and vice versa) and specifically how to recognize five important elements of an organic theme.

Learning how to write literary fiction can be helpful not only in writing the genre itself, but in raising the vibration on any type of story.

Learning how to write mystery stories involves the most impressive trick of all: outsmarting readers while still playing fair with the clues.

Learning how to write historical fiction requires the skills to a well-drawn story, with the added responsibility of evoking times gone by.

Learning how to write romance requires both strong technique and the courage to write vulnerably about this integral part of life.

Fantasy combines imagination and innovation with deep roots in archetype and myth. Here are five tips for how to write fantasy.

Making a return to writing after a long time away can feel overwhelming or even bewildering. Here are five tips to set you up for success.

If you currently feel your story isn't working, double-check you've ticked these six important boxes in writing a cohesive story that works.