Part One of uncommon tools you can use to solve story problems. — I know this wheel has made its rounds in various writing communities, and for it’s face value it’s been quite popular. When I first saw it I thought it was an interesting representation of how I could better describe certain emotions. In essence it was about expanding my vocabulary. …

Writerly Maxims: Part two of a series that will improve your writing. The Power of Tension Without a solid helping of tension even the most action packed scene will fall flat, and the most heart wrenching reflection will solicit a yawn. Think about the last book that you set down and never picked up…

He slumped into the chains around his neck awaiting the execution he wouldn’t escape. — H e was resigned, beaten to the core of his humanity, the humanity he’d spent the last few weeks leaving behind. Now, in this moment, he was proud. Proud because he knew something everyone else couldn’t. …

Writerly Maxims: Part one of a series that will improve your writing. — Show Don’t Tell This is the most common maxims shared to new writers. Yet, if you were to pick up any book on your shelf and read through a few pages, I’m confident that you’d find at least one, if not more than one instance of a solid tell. In general “show don’t…

Burn It Down: A Series of Unfortunate Writing Advice(s) — Welcome to the first installment of an unproven writer submitting an unsolicited challenge against the most popular writing advice, so you can make a call on whether or not I’m out of my mind! Our first piece of advice: “Read a lot, and write a lot” I know what you’re…

Five surefire ways to start the flow of words. — Writer’s block is the age old enemy of the wordsmith, and most advice goes about addressing it all wrong. Worse than strategies that often redirect or disconnect your attempts to put words to paper is that much of the advice out there build up Writer’s Block with a mystical aura…

Live your life to overcome creative overwhelm. — We all have the capacity to turn immense pain and suffering into creativity. So much so that many of our most revered creatives of human history are known to be more than a little mentally or physically unstable. …

Why that trick to get yourself to write isn’t cutting it anymore. — There are few situations during a writer’s process as frustrating as losing motivation to write. It’s such a problem that if you Google how to motivate yourself to write you’ll find no limit to the amount of suggestions from often repeated ones, to people trying to pose unique solutions. One…