Writing Advice

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 broadly today that he intended … Read more

So you’ve heard about the Hero’s Journey, but it’s kind of complicated right? This article will introduce you to the basics, with plenty of examples, and walk you through an introduction to Joseph Campbell and Christoper Vogler’s work! One title I’ll address is ‘The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers” by Christopher Vogler. The title … Read more

So you’re writing a play, novel, or screenplay (or anything with a narrative including nature documentaries … perhaps even academic essays) and you want to include a great central question. This article will explain what a central question is, and how to craft a gripping one!  Establish your Super Objective First of all you need … Read more

So you’re writing a novel, play, or screenplay, and you want to give your character a compelling central objective, or intention? This article will walk through some of the key things to consider. The Backbone of your Story The central objective, or central intention of your protagonist is the backbone of your story. It’s the … Read more

So you know that your favourite stories explore themes, like Good and Evil, or Poverty and Class. You want your story to operate on this plane as well, but how to do it? By the end of this article you’ll be a theme-guru, writing plays, novels, and screenplays that deliver on theme.  Pick Your Theme! … Read more

Arc Implies Change So you’ve been told to improve you character arcs, or you’re just curious about how to write great ones. First of all, what are they? An arc is really a journey from one state to another. Transformation is something that has obsessed story tellers from the earliest days – look at Ovid’s … Read more

Exposition is story information. It’s the facts or bare bones of your tale that the audience needs to know to appreciate what’s going on. There is a lot of skill involved in delivering exposition in story at the highest level. So what are exposition dumps? How do we avoid them? Exposition dumps are when a … Read more

We all know that characters encounter obstacles in stories, but how do we write really good ones? What sets a bad obstacle apart from one that enhances the story and leaves the audience desperate for more? Read on to find out. Perfect obstacles get bigger throughout the story, they reveal character, they are closely related … Read more