6/30/23 6/30/23

Your Character's Degree of Change: Evolution or Transformation?

Each story, and each character, is unique, and so the degree of change will be particular to your character and story situation. Once you determine the degree of change your character undergoes, evolution or transformation, you will be clearer about your overall deep story design.

5/29/22 5/29/22

Structure is King, Character is Queen

In chess, the game is over when the king falls, but the queen is the strongest piece during the game. She has the most power and flexibility. If you lose your queen it's almost guaranteed you'll lose the game as well. In many ways, the queen rules the gameplay, but her allegiance is to the safety and preservation of the king.Similarly, structure and character work together to create a dynamic game of story.

3/31/22 3/31/22

Writing Scenes

You have a ton of tasks to tend to when it comes to crafting your stories, and writing scenes is one of them. What is a scene?

6/28/20 6/28/20

Choice, Change, and Conflict

In the midst of all the changes in the world, we are invited to make some new choices—collectively and individually.

4/12/17 4/12/17

The Uncertainty of Writing

Lately I’ve been dipping into Pema Chodron’s book Comfortable with Uncertainty (Shambhala, 2002). I’m at an uncertain point in my life and needing reminders to breathe deeply, face my fears, and accept that everything is impermanent. I’m reminded that all of this is good advice for the writing life as well. After all, what’s more uncertain than the writer’s life?

character • character development • conflict • courage • creativity • drafting • goals • gratitude • inspiration • motivation • outlining • productivity • readers • resistance • revision • scenes • story • structure • success • talent • time • travel • uncertainty • writing process