Storytelling
Hello! I’m writing a fantasy story where large parts of the story are dedicated to the romance between the main characters, but the protagonist is averse to emotional closeness. So when feelings start to develop it’s the love interest that pursues the relationship, with him … read more »
Many storytellers want their stories to say something meaningful, but fail to communicate that message successfully. This usually happens because the storyteller is futzing over the gift wrap while neglecting what’s in the box. Like anything else important, messaging has to be built right into … read more »
Years of daydreaming and obsessing over ideas can leave us with so much background information that it becomes difficult to tell a concise story. If you include too much history, your story will be an overburdened mess. Even so, your story will probably be better … read more »
Dear Mythcreants, After getting frustrated by media stereotyping and belittling of female anger, I’m currently creating a female protagonist with anger as a deep motivating factor. Her arc centers on learning to harness her anger positively. The emphasis is very much on the management part … read more »
Storytelling has rules, and the best way to tell good stories is to learn those rules so you can apply them to your own work. At least, that’s what we’d say if we were total squares who wanted to crush storytellers’ beautiful free spirits! Sure, … read more »
When designing a romance, the first choice you’ll need to make is who the love interest is. That choice will heavily influence what makes the romance appealing, the type of chemistry between the love interest and protagonist, and what obstacles the romance might have to … read more »
I’ve noticed in fiction that shy characters tend to be written badly and much differently from how they are in real life. Many shy characters are passive in plots because they lack the enthusiasm and drive that extroverted characters have. They tend to be slow … read more »
Over the years, we’ve received many questions about how to plot multiple books. The answer is surprisingly simple: story structure is the same no matter the scale. However, reader expectations about story continuity do change a little when the story is broken into different books, … read more »
You’ve added lots of conflict to your story, but readers are still telling you it’s boring. What gives? Unfortunately, a number of different things can cause this problem. To help you troubleshoot, let’s go over some common reasons that tension might be missing. Read more »
Conflict is, as we never get tired of saying, critical to stories. It’s what creates stakes, tension, and satisfaction, what keeps us turning the page to see what happens next. But have you ever felt like you were reading the same conflict over and over … read more »
