You know that character in your story—the one who should be fascinating but somehow falls completely flat? They go through all the right motions, face challenges, overcome obstacles, yet readers can't seem to connect with them. Here's something mos...
I have a confession: I've started 47 stories in the last three years. I've finished exactly two. The problem wasn't ideas—I had plenty of those. It wasn't even talent (or so my writing group kindly insisted). My stories died from something far more...
You're three chapters from the end. Your protagonist is positioned perfectly for the final confrontation. You know exactly what needs to happen. But somehow, each time you sit down to write these crucial scenes, the words come out wooden. The dialogu...
You've outlined your plot meticulously. Every scene connects. Your protagonist's journey makes perfect sense in your head. But when beta readers get their hands on your manuscript, they keep asking: "Wait, why would she do that?" or "Where did that s...
You've read all the books. You've got three different plotting methods bookmarked. Your Scrivener project has seventeen different organizational templates, and you're currently debating whether to use the Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, or the Three-Ac...
We've all read dialogue that feels like a chess match where every player announces their moves out loud. "I'm angry at you because you forgot my birthday." "Well, I'm hurt that you didn't notice I've been stressed at work." Characters who say exactly...
You're 40,000 words into your novel when you realize something's terribly wrong. Your opening drags on forever, your midpoint feels rushed, and your climax arrives either too early or absurdly late. You know your story has the right beats—the hero'...
You know that electric feeling when a brilliant story idea strikes at 2 AM? That moment when you're convinced you've cracked the code to fixing your protagonist's motivation problem or found the perfect twist that makes everything click? Then morning...
You've started five stories this year. Maybe ten. You can feel the spark of each one—that electric moment when characters spring to life and plot possibilities unfold like origami in reverse. But somewhere around the middle, they all fizzle out. Yo...
You're forty pages into your manuscript when it happens. Your protagonist walks into a room, sits down, and… nothing. You type a sentence. Delete it. Type another. Delete that too. The story that felt so alive just yesterday now sits there like a d...