Saying what you need to say in a concise way is hard, especially when you’re writing. Trust in the story is absolutely essential. So, how do we say what we need to say? Do we confront how we feel, or do we wait until we’re too tired to speak up? Do we confront it for […]
Defense mechanisms are a variety of behaviors that keep a person from confronting and acknowledging uncomfortable feelings. They include denial, projection, repression, and suppression. Defense mechanisms are inherited from our parents and are often first manifested in childhood. When you think about developing your characters, you need to find ways to show how emotions affect […]
If you’re new to writing or you’re on a journey to soak up whatever knowledge you can find, you may be wondering why writers decide to do what they do. Write down a handful of scenes on notecards, and shuffle them around to suit whatever thought process you’re trying to work out. It’s a useful […]
Body language is subconscious, so you can’t always tell exactly what’s going on in someone else’s mind. However, body language can be extremely revealing, and it can also be surprisingly easy to pick up—often without even realizing it. For example, the “head tilt” is often used in emotional displays. When someone is nervous, they may […]
Words lose their meaning over time, and more often than not end up meaning something different from what they originally meant. All in all, there are many ways to reinforce your writing. You can pick one or all of these techniques to use if you are in need of re-enforcement in your own writing. The […]
Most people write to express their feelings or to entertain their readers. However, some write to make the world a more peaceful place. The weather in Oakland keeps changing. It’s no longer hot in the morning, or cold in the evening. It’s not raining, it’s not humid. It’s not windy. It’s not sunny. It’s not […]
Today, we’re going to talk about motivation. Motivation is what keeps you going. Motivation is what keeps you going in the face of adversity. And motivation is what keeps your villains going, too. Motivation can be a very powerful thing. There are lots of reasons the villains in our stories do the things they do. […]
Movement is a complex topic but excellent practice. To keep a reader engaged, you must keep them turning pages. In other words, you need to ensure that your character (and other characters) move around. Movement could be physical, but it could be an emotional state of mind too. Even if you’ve wrapped up your first […]
The central conflict is the driving force behind your story. It drives the plot forward, and it acts as a key to understanding what you’re trying to say as the author. You may have seen a version of this table in the past. Type of Conflict Genre Example Person vs. environment Thrilling adventure The Old […]