6 Tips for Writing Thrillers (with Alexa Donne!)
What makes a novel a thriller? What differentiates it from mystery or suspense? I discussed these questions and more with fellow YouTuber...
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All About Writing in Second Person
Second-person point of view involves telling a story through the pronoun “you.” Compared to first-person (I, my) and third-person (she,...
How to Read Like a Writer
Reading like a writer means reading to learn from other authors. By understanding the creative choices used in novels you admire, you can...
Building Tension in a Scene – “The Queen’s Gambit” by Walter Tevis
In The Queen’s Gambit, author Walter Tevis knows how to put readers on the edge of their seats with high-stakes games of chess. The...
Not All Rainbows: Rise of the Queer Antihero
To be queer is to be human — and humans are messy motherfuckers. Read my musings on Medium.
Writing Fiction with Emotional Honesty
"Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” – Natalie Goldberg...
When Should You Trunk a Story?
Trunk stories are novels or short stories you’ve had to bury because, for whatever reason, they feel lifeless. This video contains tips...
4 Plotting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Whether you outline in advance or write on the fly, plotting a novel is hard work. Using examples, I’ll show you how to improve your...
Learning to Write Horror From Edgar Allan Poe
As a tale of heartless revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous and lauded works. If you’d like to skip...
Writing Tips for Overwriters and Underwriters
Many of us struggle with overwriting and underwriting (insert insurance joke here). You have to strike the right balance between rich...
Writing Exercise: Adding Spice to a Scene
Adding conflict to a scene can spice up the writing and reading experience. Here, you’ll find a few recipes for creating that...
Writing Subtext in Dialogue
“It’s not what you say; it’s what you don’t say.” Subtext involves the hidden feelings beneath spoken words—anger, love, mistrust—all...
The Importance of Setting in Storytelling
Setting can give birth to plot, shape characters, and influence the atmosphere of a story. It can be the difference between a forgettable...
Writing Like J.K. Rowling: Character Complexity
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series features characters of varying complexity. "Character complexity" can be defined as how much detail...
Anatomy of a Scene
A well-written scene is like a good lover—it keeps your interest throughout and, by the end, leaves you begging for more. Once you know...
Writing Exercise: Fleshing Out Your Characters
Sometimes our characters hover between two-dimensional and three-dimensional. By identifying the hidden depths of ourselves and the...