We've all read dialogue that feels like a tennis match—characters lobbing their intentions back and forth with perfect clarity. "I'm angry at you!" "Well, I don't trust you!" "That's because you're jealous!" It's technically conflict, but it lands ...
You're three chapters into your manuscript, and your protagonist is having a heart-to-heart with their best friend. You know what needs to happen in this scene—emotional revelations, relationship tension, a hint at the coming storm. But as you writ...
You know that character you've been writing? The one who's supposed to be fascinating, complex, and memorable? If you're being honest, they're about as compelling as a cardboard cutout at a movie theater. Their dialogue sounds like a grocery list, th...
You're 40,000 words into your novel when it happens. The spark fizzles. The characters who once whispered in your ear have gone silent. You open your manuscript and feel... nothing. Not writer's block exactly—you could write something—but that ma...
You know that feeling when you're 40,000 words into your novel and suddenly you'd rather reorganize your spice cabinet than face Chapter 12? You sit down to write, stare at the screen, tweak a sentence from three chapters ago, then convince yourself ...
You know that feeling when you open your story document and immediately want to close it again? When the thought of plotting out your ending makes your brain fog over, and suddenly cleaning the bathroom grout sounds like a perfectly reasonable altern...
You're sprinting toward your NaNoWriMo deadline, words flying onto the page at record speed. Then you read back what you've written and your heart sinks. Your protagonist feels like cardboard. The supporting cast could be replaced by houseplants and ...
You're three chapters into your novel when panic sets in. You've created a magic system with rules you can't quite remember. Your protagonist's eye color changed between scenes. And that subplot about the stolen necklace? You're not sure if you ever ...
You've probably heard it before: "Your characters feel flat." Maybe it came from a beta reader, a critique partner, or that nagging voice in your own head as you reread your draft. Your protagonist moves through the story, hits all the plot points, s...
You've plotted your story carefully. You know your inciting incident, your midpoint twist, your climactic showdown. Everything's in place. Then beta readers point out that your protagonist somehow knows information they shouldn't have access to, or y...