Writer Unleashed

Cause and effect is one of the major tenets of a cohesive plot so everything is knit together to shape your story. Every cause leads to an effect. It's often described as a chain reaction. One eve...

19 Marras 202411min

How do you build character into the structure of your story? What's the story beneath the plot? Structure alone won't create the energy and momentum a story thrives on. There's the story underneath ...

12 Marras 202415min

Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life. But it's fatal in story. You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold...

5 Marras 202420min

How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing? How do you surprise us? In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi...

29 Loka 202418min

If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences? A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone ...

22 Loka 202420min

First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations. Sometimes first-person characters merely report the acti...

15 Loka 202420min

When reading fiction or a memoir, a reader's brain actively simulates the experience of the characters. The reader becomes so absorbed in the story, they experience it as though it's true. They believ...

8 Loka 202420min

What is an anti-hero and why do they fascinate us? How do they keep us invested in their plight scene after scene, even as they do immoral, criminal, or deplorable things? In this episode, we'll talk...

1 Loka 202418min