Fiction

Everybody loves a story in which the hero is the ultimate good guy and triumphs over evil — like Superman or Harry Potter. But beware. The #1 mistake you can make when developing characters is creating heroes that are perfect. What reader can identify with perfection? The most memorable, plausible, believable heroes exhibit human, flawed […]

Guest post by Becca Puglisi If you’ve been on the writing trail long enough, you’ve heard plenty of talk about conflict and the role it plays in storytelling. Whatever form it takes, conflict creates tension while providing opportunities for characters to grow and evolve as they navigate their character arcs. But some of the most […]

Stories without conflict, where the main character faces zero opposition, fail because they bore readers. In real life, harmony and agreement are worthy goals that produce a harmonious existence. But such is no recipe for stories that captivate readers. Readers love conflict. It’s the engine of compelling fiction. Conflict creates tension, and tension keeps readers […]

A book like A Game of Thrones, a movie like Star Wars, or even a video game like Final Fantasy can make it appear their creators have effortlessly built a fantasy world out of nothing. In fact, these worlds may feel as real as the world you live in. How do they do it? More […]

Page-turning novels feature memorable characters. Consider: Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway The Sherlock Holmes novels by Arthur C. Doyle To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Anna Karenina […]