Avoiding Emotional Redundancy

Every scene in your manuscript should have a purpose, and move the story forward.  So obviously, […]

Sidekicks and Sounding Boards

Ever wonder why so many characters have sidekicks?  It’s not so much that the character couldn’t […]

Antagonists Who Aren’t Villains

Does every story need a villain? There is a big difference between a villain and an […]

Tension as Uncertainty

No matter what your genre, maintaining tension is key to keeping readers engaged.  Too often, I […]

Language Learning in Literature and Life

As a language learner, things can get a little overwhelming at times.  Having a conversation one-on-one […]

Promises to the Reader: Avoiding The Empty Doughnut

I’ve been binge-watching past episodes of Master Chef. In one challenge from a few seasons ago, […]

Sticking The Landing

When you watch a gymnast doing a parallel bars routine, it is easy to get caught […]

Symbolically Speaking

When I start talking about literary devices in my writing classes, the discussion inevitably comes around […]

Kintsugi and The Fine Art of the Character Arc

In real life, we resist change.  But our characters get pushed to change by the plot. […]

Guest Blogger: Bud Humble

We have Bud Humble as our guest speaker for Saturday Night Write on March 16, 2019. […]