Getting unstuck with a mind map

Getting unstuck with a mind map

Do you think visually? Have you tried mind-mapping? I’m not normally a visual thinking, but right now I’m pretty stuck. I’m trying to write a Christmas novella and it’s just like pulling a square out of a round hole that I’ve jammed in there really hard. It’s not...
Bringing Emotion to the Page

Bringing Emotion to the Page

When I first started writing, I was told that if my character cries on the page, my reader was not going to be crying as she read that. If I wanted to bring tears to my reader’s eyes, my character’s eyes needed to be dry while they were completely torn up inside. As...
Building a story with archetypes

Building a story with archetypes

Archetypes. They’re not stereotypes! Stereotypes are an oversimplification of a type of person—the evil, mustache-twirling villain who does bad things for the pure joy of being mean. Stereotypes tend to be two-dimensional characters. They have no depth, no reason...
The Power of Sprinting

The Power of Sprinting

Halleluyah! I have converts! I spoke, others heard, and now they too have experienced the power, the inspiration, the incredible empowerment of the Almighty Sprint. They didn’t entirely believe me when I spoke. They doubted my words, my conviction. With skepticism in...
Tearing a book apart

Tearing a book apart

I’ve currently got three books I’m reading critically in addition to the one I’m doing my best to write. So currently at the top of my mind is what readers are looking for when they read a book. What I should be looking for as I tear these books apart. Number one, of...