How She Writes

One of the core elements of a story is the conflict. The conflict not only pushes the plot forward, and gives your character a battle to fight, but using conflict is one of the best ways to introduce emotion into your story. If you look closely at your characters, you will find that each one has a backstory and a wound. That wound can be used to create conflict and problems that pack a powerful emotional punch. What is a wound? A character's wound is a point of pain from something in their past. Usually, it stems from a small event, which tends to be the point in your character's story when a much bigger problem comes to the surface.  For example, if I start with a character who failed in some way, or disappointed someone whose opinions matter to them, their wound might be failure. That character will now do whatever it takes to protect their wound, even if it means developing flaws such as being an extreme perfectionist or avoiding all situations that could result in ...

Due to the busyness of the holiday season, there will be no post this week. However, you can expect a new one on December thirtieth. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I have to be honest, I tend to be overly optimistic when it comes to remembering ideas. I'll have some great idea, and think to myself that there is no way I could forget something that great. Well... I can. That's why I keep something I call a writer's notebook. That notebook is one of my favorite writing tools. Basically, it's a place to jot down all those great ideas before they're gone. Why do you need one? Having a notebook makes sure I write down my ideas when I get them. I know from experience that even though I have all confidence in my ability to remember that idea, I usually don't. Having a place to write things down has saved me from a lot of wasted time trying to remember things. It also keeps a great deal of inspiration in one place, making it easy to find ideas for new stories. Where should you keep it? To place the notebooks effectively, you need to understand where you'll be most of the time, and when you get the most ideas. I...

Here is one of my short stories, and I promise more stories will be coming. This one has superheroes, adventure, and a touch of espionage. Without further ado, here's the story. *** Rick tiptoed through the empty building until he came to a locked door.  Behind that door were the most high-tech weapons known to man, and in just a moment Rick would be holding one of them. He grinned and slipped the key he had swiped from his sister into the lock. As he tiptoed inside, the door creaked, and Rick cringed. You would think an organization that was home to leading experts on security would care for their hinges better. Taking a mental note to grease the door hinges tomorrow morning, he moved to the racks of weapons lining the walls. He selected the one weapon he had always wanted to try. To an untrained eye, it looked like a pair of large wrist guards. They reached down over the wearer's hands, with circular pieces of machinery resting on the palm. Once, Rick had as...

I f you asked me a year ago how I felt about outlines, I would have told you that I didn't particularly like them and never used them. I didn’t finish very many projects either. I decided it was better for my creativity that I not be constrained by an outline. Well, my creativity did fine until the middle of a piece, when it just became too hard to figure out what was going to happen next. At that point, I would decide to set that aside and work on a different project. You have no idea how many half-written drafts I have lying around from this. Since then, I have become a strong supporter of outlines. I still don’t enjoy making them, though it has gotten easier. I wouldn't write them at all except that I can finish things now. I can write an entire piece, and know exactly where I’m going the whole time. It’s really quite wonderful. Outlines help organize your thoughts. When I don’t use outlines, I tend towards rambling. I will repeat myself several different t...