Story Writing | Writing Forward

Creating Characters That Resonate

Today’s post is an excerpt from my book, What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing. This is from chapter one, “Characters.” Enjoy! Creating Characters We see ourselves in a story’s characters. We see people we know—people we love, people we hate, people we fear, people we admire, and people we want to emulate. We…Read More

sneak peek what's the story buiilding blocks for fiction writing

Sneak Peek: What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing

Today I’m sharing a look inside my book, What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing. This excerpt is from the introduction; it talks about the magic of story and what you can expect from the book. Enjoy! What’s the Story? What’s a story? Is it character? Plot? Conflict? Change? Why do some stories fall…Read More

Kill Your Darlings (for Storytellers)

Some writing tips are cryptic. When I first came across writing advice that said, “Kill your darlings,” I thought it meant we should kill off our favorite characters. That seemed ridiculous. I mean, there are situations in which a story calls for characters to die, but to make a sweeping rule that we should default…Read More

How to Develop Your Best Novel Writing Ideas

Writing a novel is no small task. In fact, it’s a momentous task. Some writers spend years eking out a first draft, followed by years of revisions. And that’s before they even think about the grueling publishing process. In other words, you’re going to spend a lot of time with your novel. So you better…Read More

What Makes Iconic Characters Unforgettable?

This post contains affiliate links that earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Luke Skywalker was the obvious hero of Star Wars: A New Hope, so why does it seem like Han, Leia, and Darth Vader got all the attention? When I think about the characters from Star Wars, Luke is often the last one who comes…Read More

Writing Tips for Creating a Complex Villain

When it comes to writing fiction, we each have our own unique challenges. For some of us, it’s a struggle to come up with names for characters. For others, it’s hard to write realistic dialogue. Maybe you’re like me and find it difficult to write a really good villain — I mean — a really bad…Read More

42 Fiction Writing Tips for Novelists

The more I explore fiction writing, the more complex and multi-layered it becomes. Through the processes of brainstorming, outlining, researching, writing, and revising, I have discovered countless details that authors have to consider as they set out to produce a viable work of fiction. Over the years, I have collected a vast pile of notes…Read More

Where to Find Ideas for Writing a Story

It always seem like there are too many writing ideas or not enough. When you don’t have time to write, ideas come hurtling out of nowhere. Sometimes they come so fast, you can’t even write them all down. But when you sit down, stretch your fingers, and lean over your keyboard to start typing, nothing…Read More

23 Fiction Writing Ideas That Will Revitalize Your Story

Sometimes our fiction writing projects dry up. The characters turn out flat, the plot feels formulaic, and the story suddenly seems lackluster. This is when a lot of writers give up and file their half-finished manuscripts into a bottom drawer never to be seen again. Before giving up on a project, why not try to…Read More

20 Fun and Inspiring Character Writing Ideas

Creating a realistic character is one of the most difficult challenges in writing a piece of fiction. We’ve all read stories in which the characters were dull or hollow; they come across like clones of the same characters we’ve met in dozens of stories before. Readers want characters who are as unique and complex as…Read More