“Outlining doesn’t kill creativity. It gives creativity a runway. You can still fly wherever you want—you just won’t crash during […]
“Your protagonist isn’t boring—they’re under-developed. Give them a wound that drives them, a flaw that complicates them, and a choice […]
“The middle of your story is not a bridge between the exciting parts. It IS the story. If your middle […]
“A screenplay is not a novel that happens to have margins. It’s a VISUAL document. If your action lines read […]
“If your magic can do everything, it’s boring. If your magic has no rules, it’s confusing. If your magic has […]
“Your reader did not pick up your book to read an encyclopedia. They picked it up to live a story. […]
“If your characters all sound like the same person wearing different name tags, your dialogue isn’t dialogue—it’s a monologue with […]
“If your character could be replaced by a cardboard cutout with ‘PROTAGONIST’ written on it and nobody would notice, we […]
“Your job is not to REPORT what happened. Your job is to make the reader EXPERIENCE what happened. There’s a […]
“The saggy middle is where amateurs quit and professionals get creative. You’re not stuck—you’re at the part that separates ‘I […]