Warning: This isn ’t pretty. (Except for a little bit at the end, maybe.)   What I Used to Think: Writing is a ticket to fame and fortun...

Okay, folks, you may notice that I’m skipping “Part 7: Tone” and going right to our two-part wrap-up. I decided that I didn’t want to sum...

Many writers avoid discussing theme for fear of being moralistic, but this is a fundamental misunderstanding... What I Used to Think: Y...

Regular reader (and former X-Files staff writer!) Mike Wollaegar is co-hosting a Google+ Pitch Fest this weekend (Don’t worry, it’s free and...

  Let ’s talk about talk. What I Used to Think: Good dialogue sounds like real life. What I Now Realize: In order to write a story,...

Why are some scenes so much more compelling than others? What I Used to Think: A scene is primarily an exchange of dialogue. What I ...

Many writers are dubious about learning structure, but these fears, like most, tend to be based on false assumptions...   What I Used to...

A massive post to get you through the holidays (Loosen a belt loop before reading...) The most important skill for a writer to have is char...

Concept is not the most important aspect of story, but it’s your hook to lure people in, so let’s start with that.  Here are some of the mis...

Writing is really hard.   Making a living as a writer is even harder.   The hardest part is overcoming all of the harmful misconceptions t...

Hi gang, thanks so much for all the advice I got in the reader survey ! Now let’s start looking at some of the work I’ve done on the book....

So I’ve started toying around with a book, though I’ve been reluctant to do so... After all, I love the altruistic nature of blogging, ...

I generally tend to agree with the advice of Robert McKee (even if I find his tone far too lofty), but not always.  For instance: he insis...

True story: After a few failed attempts at post-college dating, I had reached the point where I’d pretty much given up. I decided that I ...