There’s a simple test to know if you are meant to write that story The best authors are the ones who absolutely positively have to write their story. There is something compelling them, captivating them, and fueling their curiosity and their creativity. Are you one of those authors? …

Creating backstories that help you better understand your characters Some authors really go overboard with writing and sharing backstories for their characters. It’s important to understand the purpose of creating backstory, and the separate reasons for sharing it. …

Creating climaxes in fiction that are the culmination of your story’s primary Conflict When readers think about story Climaxes, we often think of really epic events like bloody battles and tragic deaths, or of big heartbreaks and the downfall of heroes. But remember that your Climax is the culmination of…

Understanding the role that research plays in works of fiction Fiction isn’t wholly created by imagination. While certainly the original inception of our stories will spring from our ideas, it’s important to note that we still have to use some factual information within the content. Even stories rooted in fantasy…

How to create relationships between archetypes in fiction They say that three’s a crowd, but in fiction, three is also a power dynamic; a triangle of potential lust, friction, and evolution. …

Rising Action allows you to connect your readers to your characters and their conflicts through emotion What experience do you want readers to have, while reading your story? Do you want them to be entertained, delighted, surprised? Do you want to inform or educate people about a particular subject or…

How to create masterful timeframes (including multiples) in your work of fiction When does your story take place, and does the timeframe or timeframes make sense to your story? In Jeffrey Eugenides’ Pulitzer Prize winning second novel, Middlesex, the author chose to split the story between two primary timelines: the…

Creating Characters in Fiction that Readers Connect With, and Root For Even the most innovative, outlandish, unique characters will fit into certain archetypes. The best characters in fiction will clearly have two archetypal roles. …

Key to creating the Rising Action of your story’s plot Conflict isn’t always THE Conflict. Each of our characters will experience some kind of Conflict within your story — some of which directly impacts the plot, while others are more nuanced and subtle. …