Whether it’s a 100 word picture book or a 100,000 word scholarly novel. To create a book that matters for any age reader—from 2 to 92—there are four things it must include. I call these the 4Hs of writing: heart, hurt, hope and humor. Let’s look at each one. Heart By heart I don’t mean sweetness or love. I mean a revealing and reveling in what it means to be human. Heart is the stripping away of artifice to see … Read More »

Conflict is the backbone of storytelling. Without it, a story is a lukewarm word puddle. And you don’t just need some of it, you need a lot to have a compelling tale. So what is conflict and how do we pile it into our narratives? Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces. It can be internal or external, and it’s important to have both in your stories. The key to increasing tension as your story progresses is to layer conflict. … Read More »

A novel (with the possible exception of some experimental form) chronicles the unrolling of fictional events over time. But unlike the real world, where we have to live each instant as it comes, like it or not, the time within our story is not relentless clockwork. It’s rather more like an accordion: it expands and contracts as we, the author, need it to, the better to propel the plot and keep the reader engaged. Imagine if we had to read … Read More »

One fact about writing stories is that we populate them with characters in various contexts—on a dilapidated farm, in an overcrowded city, on a sailboat out at sea. We put thought and time into shaping relevant scenes, but how often do we consider the flip-side of our writing reality: the context in which we do our work? What’s Our Writing-Context? Surely the time of day, the people we live with, and our nation’s societal/political environment affect our writing on some … Read More »

If there’s one thing to be said about passive stories, it’s that they’re boooooring. The reader is either asleep or has moved on to something else. The narrative reads like a summary of what happened—the version you’d tell someone on the phone—not one where the reader is immersed and feels like they’re experiencing the events themselves. It’s a common problem for writers and one that takes practice to address. Here is a story written in passive style: We made cupcakes … Read More »

Much like the desserts I love this time of year, the writing I enjoy the most has layers. In writing (not dessert) I specifically enjoy the text, the subtext, and the metatext. Each has its place in different mediums: print, formal digital writing, and blog posts. When writing, it is important to consider all three levels and if your piece is the place for it. The Text Text is exactly what it sounds like. It is the printed (or digital) … Read More »