Is Our Story’s Point of View Really What We Think It Is?

Third-person POV ranges from the most distant to the deepest perspectives, so how can we tell where our story falls on the POV spectrum to avoid problems?

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Is Our Story’s Point of View Really What We Think It Is?

How to Improve Our Story with Action Beats

For dialogue attribution, action beats are more flexible than dialogue tags for our writing, adding details to our story and immersing readers in the scene.

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How to Improve Our Story with Action Beats

Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making It Essential: Part 2 — Guest: Kris Kennedy

A character’s false belief is central to a story’s internal arc, and the defining moment in a character’s backstory is key to creating that false belief.

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Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making It Essential: Part 2 — Guest: Kris Kennedy

Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making It Essential: Part 1 — Guest: Kris Kennedy

Backstory helps readers connect to our characters and provides context for their actions, but how can we make it compelling and avoid boring information dumps?

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Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making It Essential: Part 1 — Guest: Kris Kennedy

Showing vs. Telling: The Power of Context

The implication of the advice to “show, don’t tell” is that showing is “better” than telling when our story actually needs both. Let’s explore what “show, don’t tell” really means when it comes to storytelling.

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Showing vs. Telling: The Power of Context

Beyond Visuals: How to “Show” with Other Senses

The word showing obviously makes us think visually, but same as us, our characters experience the world through more than just their visual sense. What are our options for showing beyond visual descriptions? Can we create a deeper world by engaging other senses?

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Beyond Visuals: How to “Show” with Other Senses

Showing vs. Telling: Don’t Assume Showing Is Better

In the writing world, we often hear the advice to “show, don’t tell.” I’ve mentioned before that telling isn’t bad or something to be avoided at all costs, and a fantastic post by Cecilia Tan points out how the advice can actually be harmful.

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Showing vs. Telling: Don’t Assume Showing Is Better

Why Is Head Hopping Considered Lazy Writing?

Several writing craft issues tend to be hallmarks of what’s called “lazy writing.” The practice of head hopping is usually considered lazy writing, but we might not understand why it earns that label. Let’s learn more and see how we can avoid head hopping and the “lazy writing” trap.

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Why Is Head Hopping Considered Lazy Writing?