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Character Creation

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.  Some characters embrace change, and are more than ready to undertake a hero’s journey. Typically, though, protagonists don’t like change – especially difficult, painful change — any more than you do.  But you have to ignore their protests and […]

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New Advanced Novel Writing Classes

Are you ready for a new writing adventure and some new writing challenges? So excited about the new series of classes I’m doing for UTA Continuing Education this fall.  There was such an overwhelming positive response to the Novel 1-2-3 classes that they’ve decided to test out Novel 4-5-6.  If you have some writing experience, […]

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But I never got to . . .

I’m a big believer in the promises-made-to-your-reader philosophy of writing.  It’s the idea that readers file away everything you’ve laid out in the first few chapters of your story – and they expect you to follow up on it.  To see how this extends through your entire book, see the post back in January where […]

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Villain Under Construction: Villain Arcs

We’ve been talking character arcs at SNW, so I wanted to bring out once special kind of arc: the villain arc.  A good villain can really elevate your story, so take the time to fully develop all sides of your antagonist.  And then think about what makes him dynamic. The Backstory Arc Usually, the main […]

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