Do All Stories Need Subplot?
I thought it would be easy to define a subplot. And I was under the impression that all long-form stories pretty much require subplots. But it turns out that “subplot” might be a limited term, and a story with subplots circulating a main event-oriented plot is just one type of story.
The Art of Narrative Omission: Engaging Readers through Negative Space
The human brain is wired for completion. Show it the right shapes and it will conjure a sphere from nothing. Fiction works on exactly the same principle. In this piece I walk through the four elements where omission does the most work: action, information, motivation, and interiority.
Considerations for Dual POV
This is not a how-to article. You’ll find no prescriptions here. This is just an investigation of some of the artistic choices you might consider in creating a dual-POV story. If you’re writing dual POV, then you’ll have some decisions to make about how the characters come together, when they come together, and what exactly they share.
100 Books Published in 2023 for Your TBR Pile
A mega list of books published in 2023, compiled in a table with info about genre, book description, and the person and tense of the narration.
Verisimilitude: What it is and how it works
Verisimilitude all about getting the reader to suspend disbelief and see realistic depictions of character, setting, and events. But what does it mean for such story elements to be realistic?
Prepping for Beta Reading
Once you’ve found a beta reader for your work, how should you proceed? Some tips here on how to prepare your expectations, your manuscript, and your reader.
Show, Don’t Tell Disambiguation
What’s at the root of the “Show, Don’t Tell” concept, what does showing look like, and how might people abuse showing? An exploration of this oft-cited piece of writing advice.
Delight: The Secondary Source of Reader Engagement
Though tension is maybe the main source or reader engagement, there are several sources of “delight” that help charm the reader and make books memorable.
Varieties of Omniscience
Using an omniscient narrator? It may help to be aware of these two dimensions, which account for the varieties of omniscient approaches.
A Glossary of Assorted Writing Craft Terms
I’ve put together a series on YouTube that attempts to define, clarify, or otherwise demystify various writing craft terms. Here, I’ve listed the terms I’ve already examined, and I’ll post additions as more videos are published.