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The flashback is a great storytelling device, allowing you to send the reader back to witness first-hand the formative moments of a character or event. Comedy, action and even horror stories make frequent use of flashbacks, but while they’re common, they can be difficult to get right. We’ve talked before about the structure of a flashback, but in this article I want to discuss four crucial …
[Read more...] about The 4 Decisions That Will Help You Write An Amazing Flashback
Ever wondered how to tell if your villain is cheesy, or how you can make them more realistic and engaging? In this article I'll be looking at exactly that, but instead of offering advice to authors, I'm going to the heart of the problem... In a cloud-shrouded castle he waits, plotting the demise of all who would oppose him in his quest for unlimited power. Outside, lightning streaks through the …
[Read more...] about The Best Ways To Root Out A Cheesy Villain
The cliché is a mercurial beast. At times a loyal and faithful steed and at others a vicious predator that can tear apart even the most carefully constructed sentence. Frequently invisible to the author, they lie in wait to chase off readers and claim a work as their own. That’s why in this article I’ll be providing a hunter’s guide to the cliché, covering everything you need to know about where …
[Read more...] about The Cliché Hunter’s Guide To Improving Your Writing
It’s often said that editing is a process of subtraction. Write what feels right and then keep cutting what doesn’t work until you’re left with something that does. It’s not the whole truth, but as a theory it does address a crucial truth of great writing – it’s not just about what you write, but what you choose to remove. Many authors have unique issues that can only be addressed by this kind of …
[Read more...] about How To Improve Your Writing By Cutting Eight Words
Being funny is hard, and it’s particularly hard in writing. Perhaps it’s because humor depends on shared context, or perhaps it’s because it trumps any other element of a story – how can you crack a joke without lessening the reader’s involvement in a story’s romance, horror or mystery? For many authors, the answer is to pass that task onto their characters. Done well, funny characters will find …
[Read more...] about Writing Funny Characters That Actually Make People Laugh
Sometimes a story needs a genius. An expert, unparalleled in their field, with a theory that just might be right. And yet smart characters are a huge risk for any writer. Get them right and the reader will be as impressed with the writer as they are with the character, but get it wrong and it feels like the author is simply using a ‘smart’ character as a mouthpiece to move the story along. So …
[Read more...] about The Dos and Don’ts Of Writing Smart Characters
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