Writer Unleashed

Keeping your story grounded in time balances the pace of your story and helps readers navigate your character’s journey. But how do you show the passage of time in your novel without jarring, or worse...

3 Dec 202425min

Well, it's officially gift giving season, and your family and friends might be asking, “What do you want for Christmas?” Maybe you have a writer in your life and you want to get something special, an...

26 Nov 202416min

Cause and effect is one of the major tenets of a cohesive plot so everything is knit together to shape your story. Every cause leads to an effect. It's often described as a chain reaction. One eve...

19 Nov 202410min

How do you build character into the structure of your story? What's the story beneath the plot? Structure alone won't create the energy and momentum a story thrives on. There's the story underneath ...

12 Nov 202414min

Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life. But it's fatal in story. You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold...

5 Nov 202419min

How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing? How do you surprise us? In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi...

29 Okt 202417min

If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences? A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone ...

22 Okt 202419min

First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations. Sometimes first-person characters merely report the acti...

15 Okt 202419min