Theme is a loaded word. In fiction, it aroused the suspicion that we’re preaching about something. Can’t we just give the story a...

Theme is a loaded word. It conjures up middle school English classes where you have to cough up what the writer was trying to say in...

This week I’m so pleased to have a guest blog from Brian McDonald. You can hear more from Brian at his blog and website. Brian McDonald...

I was listening to Bob Mayer give a workshop on writing the novel and I heard the voice of God. Now, I like Bob Mayer very much, but it...

I’ve been working so hard on novels the last few years that I’ve forgotten how useful it is to write short. Very short. If you’re having...

Today I’m putting down yet another book that I hoped would grip me in a dramatic embrace. Nope, it didn’t. I’m quitting on page 80. If...

In all of the frenzy to lock down the elements of story craft, we often forget what we’re talking about in the first place. That is, what...

Theme is a loaded word. It conjures up middle school English classes where you have to cough up what the writer was trying to say in...