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Let’s examine how a master story-teller whips a little literary confection into existence. Stephen King is the dude I’m thinking of – and the confection in question is a feature that appeared in [...]

We need to know how your character is feeling, okay? It’s not enough simply to have things happen to him without giving us any sense of his emotional state. Part of the reason for this is that [...]

In life people speak about “wanting for nothing” as though it’s a good thing. Actually, in life and in stories, it’s not a good thing at all. It means, basically, that we’re ready for death. [...]

Consider for a moment the four-dimensional world you live in. You might well be sitting at your computer at this very moment, reading these words… But a few minutes ago, or in  a few minutes [...]

As a novelist, you shouldn’t be too kind. We all know Kurt Vonnegut’s exhortation to put your characters through hell, but do we always heed it where our own beloved characters are concerned? I [...]

I think in the film and television business we talk more about agency than people do when discussing stories destined for print – although why this should be so I’m not sure. By “agency” I am [...]

If you want to be reminded that characters are the most important part of a narrative, go and read (or reread) George Elliot’s Middlemarch. I have just done exactly this and was struck by how [...]

Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wept and wept, sobbing into her sodden tissue until it dissolved and she was left hiccupping… It’s worth making the point again because I keep noticing [...]

We understand that conflict lies at the heart of all drama – that the tension between what your protagonist wants and what stands in the way of his satisfying that desire is what drives all [...]

More than the more visual media of story-telling, reading immerses us in the experiences of others – which is why I particularly fear a society that doesn’t read. It’s my belief that reading [...]

Here’s a little point that’s been bothering me a great deal while reading assignments recently. Have you used the strongest verbs you possibly can? He walked to the door? You need hardly bother [...]