Podcast
What’s that feeling inside you? Do you want one thing but also want another thing? Then you might have internal conflict, an important tool in any storytellers kit. External conflicts provide plenty of excitement and motivation, but internal conflicts are how you really get into who a character is and what they want. Of course, internal conflicts can also result in a lot of boring navel gazing when not handled properly. Fortunately, this episode is all about how to handle internal conflict properly!
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Analysis
Many people are familiar with the character shield and plot-armor tropes: those points in a story where it really feels like a character should die, but the writer won’t let them. It turns out that many stories have the opposite issue: a character dies for … read more »
Storytelling
So that moment you’ve been waiting for since the beginning of the book has finally arrived. After 200,000 words, many epic battles, a few hilarious misunderstandings, and several tedious subplots, the two main characters have finally confessed their love for each other. They mutually consent, … read more »
Roleplaying
Fighters have something of a bad reputation in certain 5E Dungeons and Dragons circles. Many consider the class too simple, suitable only for new players still learning the game. Others go a step further, saying the class is not only boring but on the weaker … read more »
Comics: Once Upon a Trope
If only diplomacy was that easy. Read more »
Q&A
How can I write a story about fighting racism? I want to write a character who’s faced prejudice and hatred from everyone around them and never found a place to live. How can the character learn to combat racism and bigotry and oppression in a … read more »
Podcast
What’s that, you want to know how to tell jokes in fiction? I guess we could… humor you. Yeah, that’s about the level of comedy you should expect from this podcast, but on the bright side, we do have some actual insights into how humor … read more »
Worldbuilding
Hey there, friend, do you feel like joining some vampires for a night out on the town? What about riding with a werewolf motorcycle gang or chasing down demons in the city’s unrealistically accessible sewers? I hope at least one of those things appeals to … read more »
Writing
One of the most common questions that comes up in writing is how to gracefully describe the point-of-view character. In limited perspective, the narration reflects what that character is thinking at some level. While it’s easy to work in description of other characters as soon … read more »
Q&A
Fay, I’ve read your article on addressing ableism in sanity systems, and I’ve been wondering how to write about horrible things that do cause radical alterations in people. I come from the land of the SCP Foundation Wiki and they have anomalies that hijack and … read more »
