Stop Describing Characters in One Word The Rewrite The Advice That Might Be Hurting Your Novel Here’s a piece of writing advice you’ve probably heard before: “Sum up your character in one word.” Lazy. Kind. Evil. Funny. It sounds useful. Clean. Efficient. And it might be quietly weakening your entire novel. Because the…
The Spielberg–King Effect: Why Some Stories Don’t Let You Go Why do some stories feel like you’re watching… while others feel like you’re inside them? It’s the difference between observing a story—and experiencing it. And two masters have built entire careers on that difference: Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. They work in different mediums. They…
Having an Object Represent the Arc What if you could show a character’s entire emotional journey… without them saying a word? As writers, we’re often told that characters need an arc—that they must change. A story where the character ends exactly as they began can feel flat, leaving the reader wondering: what was the point?…
The Character Arc in Jaws No One Talks About Most people think they know why Jaws works. They’ll point to the shark.Or the music.Or the direction. They’re not wrong. But they’re not right either. Because the real reason Jaws works… is something most viewers never notice. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it….
The Problem With Plot Armour in Prequels The Hook We all love a good prequel—until we realize something uncomfortable: We already know who survives. And the moment we know that… the tension disappears. The Promise If you’ve ever struggled to make a prequel feel gripping, here’s the truth: The problem isn’t your story.It’s the…
Why Most Short Stories Fail (And How to Fix It) Short stories have a strange problem. Just when the reader starts settling into the world… the story ends. New characters appear.A new setting begins.Another premise starts from scratch. It can feel less like reading a novel and more like being repeatedly introduced to strangers. That’s…
The Myth That’s Hurting Young Writers For generations, young writers have been told a dangerous lie. The idea goes something like this: Great writers suffer. They drink too much.They struggle through broken marriages.They wrestle with depression and personal demons. Somehow, the story goes, pain produces great art. This belief even has a name: the suffering…
Connect the Reader to the Story The fastest way to lose a reader Many writers spend years perfecting plot structure, world-building, and beautiful prose. Yet readers still walk away feeling… nothing. The problem usually isn’t the plot. It’s the distance between the reader and the story. If a reader feels like an outsider watching events…
The Hidden Problem With Long Novels Many writers spend months — sometimes years — crafting an incredible ending. The final battle is powerful.The villain is defeated.The hero changes. There’s just one problem. Readers may never get there. If your novel is 400 or 500 pages long and nothing major happens until the final chapter, readers…
When Too Much Writing Hurts Your Story Most writers worry about not writing enough. But the opposite problem can quietly damage a story just as much. It’s called overwriting. And many writers don’t realize they’re doing it. Underwriting vs. Overwriting Most writers understand underwriting. That’s when a story lacks the basic information readers need….
The Eyes Reveal the Real Story “Oh, what daggers we throw from our eyes when we smile at those we despise.” That line captures something every writer should understand. People rarely say what they truly mean. And that’s exactly what makes fiction interesting. The worst thing a writer can do is create characters who say…
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