Dialogue adds immense interest to a story, but dialogue is hard to write. I don’t mean that it’s hard to write words that sound like real people talking, though that’s true too. What I’m talking about today is the not-so-simple mechanics of typing dialogue onto the page and punctuating it properly. Let me give you […]
The Power and the Fear of Creating
September 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This summer we’ve been talking about where story ideas come from. I hope we inspired some ideas. But sometimes when we say, “I don’t know what to write about,” it’s our way of saying that our dreams are bigger than our current abilities. Our imagination is powerful, and our skills may seem small by comparison… […]
A Fly on the Wall
August 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
You’ve heard that expression, haven’t you? “Oh, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall!” means “I wish I could have been there to see THAT!” Stories can give us an insider’s view, and that’s always interesting, especially if we see the scene from the vantage point of the casual observer. Perhaps […]
Odd Jobs
August 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The seeds of a story can be found in anything that piques readers’ interest. What about a character who has an odd or unusual job? A flight attendant on Air Force One A maid or chef at the White House Tooth Fairy Buffy: Vampire Slayer Kindergarten Cop The Whipping Boy Perhaps your character has a […]
Mysteries & Secrets
August 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Everybody loves a secret! If you’re looking for story ideas, you could look to National Treasures or any “whodunnit” for inspiration. How did the ancients build Stonehenge? How did Aztec messengers train themselves to run hundreds of miles? Who was Jack the Ripper? What happened to Atlantis? What inspired the Seven Wonders of the Ancient […]