Mar 15Member-onlyOn Scene-level Microtension and the Greatest Prologue Ever WrittenWhat Is Microtension? I’ve written about microtension with frequency. The word helps describe a simple aspect of storytelling that is crucial to a narrative but often remains in the shadows. What is it? Microtension is getting tension on every page of a story on a line-by-line basis. C.S. Lakin does an incredible job…Writing Tips9 min readWriting Tips9 min read
Mar 9Member-onlyBook Coach Corner: Barb and Star Go to Vista del MarBackground: What Is Book Coach Corner? Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to analyze books, tv shows, and movies. I will then dissect them in terms of story structure. …Data Driven Fiction5 min readData Driven Fiction5 min read
Feb 23Member-onlyTurning Weaknesses into Writing Strengths“Why is your voice so little?” I was made fun of a lot growing up for my voice. Any insult you can imagine for a boy with a feminine manner of speaking, I heard. You sound like a woman. F**got. Why do you talk like that? The list goes on and on. I was in third…Writing7 min readWriting7 min read
Feb 9Member-onlyBook Coach Corner: The White Lotus (Season 2)Background: What Is Book Coach Corner? Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to analyze books, tv shows, and movies. I will then dissect them in terms of story structure. …Data Driven Fiction8 min readData Driven Fiction8 min read
Jan 19Member-onlyBe a Doer, Success Can Come Quickly and FuriouslyOur culture is quick to dismiss quiet, ordinary, hardworking people. In many instances, we equate ordinary with boring or, even more dangerous, ordinary has become synonymous with meaningless — Lynne Twist I got lucky in my first corporate job. It was a bizarre hybrid of a startup and a corporation…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Jan 12Member-onlyBook Coach Corner: BarbarianBackground: What Is Book Coach Corner? Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to look at books, tv shows, and movies and dissect them in terms of story structure. …Writing7 min readWriting7 min read
Dec 22, 2022Member-only2022 Writing Inspiration Round UpI love the end of the year because it gives so many great copouts for blog topics: What I learned in 2022! My top tips in 2022! Reappropriating My Best Content Due to Laziness! All the hot topics. This year, I wanted to flag the best stories I’ve read across…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Dec 15, 2022Member-onlyBook Coach Corner: TárBackground: What Is Book Coach Corner? Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to analyze books, tv shows, and movies. I will then dissect them in terms of story structure. …Writing Tips6 min readWriting Tips6 min read
Nov 22, 2022Member-onlyOn Embracing the Revision Process and Charlotte Brontë Riding a UnicycleI used to think my first drafts were the cat’s pajamas. (Cats’? How many are in loungewear?) I’d work and stew and hone and build and create this pile of absolute manure that I was sure was genius. Second drafts in those days were—under that framework—terrible. I’d re-encounter my work…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Nov 15, 2022Member-onlyBook Coach Corner: Don’t Worry DarlingBackground: What Is Book Coach Corner? Book Coach Corner is a blog series that allows me (your neighborhood-friendly book coach) to analyze books, tv shows, and movies and dissect them in terms of story structure. As a heads up: there will be spoilers, and some posts may not make sense if you haven’t seen/read the work. …Writing8 min readWriting8 min read
