novel
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Transcript: As we’ve learned during this series about character development, what keeps readers invested in your story isn’t just the plot — it’s the people. Strong relationships drive emotion, tension, and meaning throughout the story and give your readers more to care about and root for. Whether it’s two allies learning to trust each other,
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Transcript: Nothing slows a story faster than an info dump. You know the kind — pages of history, family trees, or magical laws before we’ve even met the main character. Writers include them because we care about our worlds and our characters. We’ve built these intricate systems, designed every corner of a kingdom, traced every
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Transcript: It’s Halloween — that magical time of year when villains, monsters, and mischief-makers get to take center stage. And honestly? They deserve it because a story is only as good as the force standing in its hero’s way. Without Darth Vader, there’s no Luke Skywalker. Without Maleficent, there’s no Sleeping Beauty. Without Regina George,
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After having participated in the event since 2011, it was heartbreaking to learn earlier this year that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) went under. A lot of reasons led to the collapse of this organization, so I won’t get into it here, but it was still a sad moment. NaNoWriMo had been the experience that
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Transcript: Too slow, and you lose your reader. Too fast, and they’re left confused, flipping back pages like, Wait—how did we get here? Let’s fix your pacing. Pacing is one of the most under-discussed, but absolutely vital, parts of story craft. You can have gorgeous prose, complex characters, and high stakes, but if the story
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Transcript: “Show, don’t tell! Show, don’t tell!” You’ve probably heard it shouted a thousand times in writing advice circles. Maybe even in all caps: “SHOW DON’T TELL!” But here’s the thing: most people who throw that line around don’t actually explain what it means, or when you’re supposed to use it. So instead of nagging
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Transcript: Past tense is classic. Present tense feels urgent. Which one is right for your story? It’s like the difference between hearing “Once upon a time…” and “This is happening right now.” Both can work, but each gives the reader a completely different experience. And yes, there are wrong ways to use them. I’ve read
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Transcript: In the age of “it’s not that deep” and anti-intellectualism running rampant on social media, let’s talk about theme in storytelling. And we don’t have to get super philosophical or nitpicky about details to do that. I know, I know—when you hear “theme,” you might flash back to high school English class, where it
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Transcript: Pop quiz! What is the most important thing a story needs? It’s not strong characters, intriguing settings, or a fantastical concept. It’s conflict, the drama, the stakes, the throwdowns, the heartbreaks. We need to make our characters struggle, even suffer, and we do that through conflict. Here’s the deal: that really cool character you
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Transcript: Whenever I ask my students what plot is, almost every time, they tell me: “The plot is the story.” Of course, I don’t say that to them, but it does go through my head every time. For many writers, the difference between story and plot might seem obvious. But for people new to the
C. Sloan Lewis | Your Virtual Writing Coach 