Them’s fightin words, right? Here’s a hot take for you. Chekhov was wrong about this one. Everything people say about the ‘Chekhov’s gun’ rule is worthless. A much better maxim is that ‘everything in story should reveal character or advance the plot.’ Chekhov forgot about the ‘reveal character’ bit when Read more…
If you are a writer of narratives (novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenplay writer) you’ve probably heard of Aristotle, and are curious about how Aristotle’s theories can help contemporary writers like you! In his work titled Poetics, Aristotle focuses mainly on tragedy, but we can interpret that a little more Read more…
What is a muse in creative writing? Fiction writers, poets, screenwriters and just about every other variety of writer often talk about waiting for the muse to strike, or finding inspiration in a muse. There are many reasons for this, but one is that we often don’t really know where Read more…
We’ve all been hit by writer’s block to some degree! Poets, novelists, screenwriters and writers in many other fields have all discussed this condition. It might show up as rendering you completely unable to write a single word, or just feeling like you don’t know where to start, or even Read more…
The basics of screenplay formatting for television and movies / films can be tricky to get right. It’s less intuitive than writing fiction, because we’ve all probably been asked to write stories at school, but many will write a screenplay for the first time much later in life. With a Read more…
There are many paths to becoming a creative writer. In this article we discuss some things to consider that will hopefully be helpful on your journey! Just Write Amazing Work Yep, this is a painful truth. Anyone can write amazing work, at any time, and you don’t need any special Read more…
Dialogue: we know it’s one of the most important elements to creative writing, but what techniques can we use to write it well? How can we make it sound natural, and compelling, yet heightened, and evocative? This article will talk through some of the leading techniques for writing compelling dialogue! Read more…
Set the scene! Just how important is setting? And what are the best techniques for writing setting? All this and more is explored below. 1. In the Particular Lies the Universal Have you heard this phrase before? It refers to the slightly odd way in which the more specific a Read more…
Reading biographies can be a lot of fun, and it can also help you to understand your favourite writers, improve your craft, and gain a better understanding of the industry you are working in. But which are the best ones? First of all, it’s probably a great idea to do Read more…
Always list what is most important first, and consider creating several CVs to cater to the priorities of different people and professions! Hi there. Writers have to have a CV, right? There’s so much cold contacting (when you reach out to someone on your own that you haven’t met), that Read more…