This holiday season, I am doing something I’ve never done for Black Friday before. I’m offering 25% off every product I’ve ever created! This means that for a limited time (November 13-27th), you can grab every book and product I sell here on my site at this special holiday price. The discount has already been applied sitewide, so no need to worry about coupons. The sale starts out with my writing books on plot, character, and story structure (and more!). Then you can take it a step further with interactive workbooks (including the Outlining Your Novel Workbook software) that can turn your ..read more

From KMW: The dictionary tells us the definition of violence is: “Behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.” By that definition, we can recognize that violence in fiction is a staple. Almost every story features some example, even if it’s “just” verbal aggression. Certain genres, such as mysteries and action, find their very foundation upon violence. Naturally, this becomes a complex subject. To avoid violence in fiction altogether is impractical, if for no other reason than the fictive world soon ceases to be an accurate representation of realit ..read more

Someone asked me recently what I thought made an original story. One piece of my answer was that I don’t believe audiences so much seek original premises as original emotional experiences. We want to experience stories that evoke emotion and create catharsis. We don’t just want a comedy that makes the corner of our mouths crinkle; we want a comedy that makes us laugh so hard we’re crying and hiccupping. We don’t just want a drama that distracts us for an hour; we want a drama that keeps us thinking for weeks, months, years afterward. We don’t just want a sad story that makes us nod o ..read more

[From KMW: Since I am traveling this week, I’m offering up a shorter post today about how to write better action scenes. For my birthday, I gave myself a month-long “writing retreat” in the mountains! I’ll be posting regular content again next week, and you can check Instagram for some peeks into my adventures.] As an author, you want to create characters so rich and compelling readers will carry a piece of the story with them for the rest of their lives. Then, once you’ve peopled your pages with vivid personalities, you want to shove them into the middle of the most gripping and exciting situ ..read more

From KMW: If you’ve ever written a story that falls into the broad genre of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, and all their many many subgenres), then you may have faced one of the main challenges of the genre: creating a magic system. A magic system can be anything from a thoroughly elaborate high concept plot-driver such as in Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels, or it can be just a simple tweak on reality as in time-travel stories. Either way, the two most important guidelines for a well-executed magic system are: The rules must remain consistent throughout the story. The magic ..read more

One of the most common questions I receive is how to use archetypes in a series. The short answer is: however you want! Archetypes are endlessly adaptable. However, there are several important considerations to keep in mind. Most have to do with understanding the shape of the story you’re going to be telling over the course of your series. Archetypes are universal symbols. Story itself is archetypal. Plot structure is archetypal. Genres are archetypal. And, of course, characters are archetypal. I have written in-depth about what I call the “life cycle” of archetypal character arcs. This system ..read more

As writers, it often seems we are channeling our stories more than creating them. So it should be no surprise to learn the tool of meditation can inspire your next story. I have often thought of writing as something of a meditation. When we’re really in the zone, it can feel like an altered state. Especially when I was younger, inspiration would sometimes strike with such force I’d call it a story high. I could ride it for week sometimes—before experiencing story hangover! As writers, our great love affair is with inspiration. Sometimes that relationship is on, and we are flooded with cre ..read more

All this summer, I have been working hard on a secret project that combines two of my favorite things: archetypes and guided meditation. Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am releasing six Archetypal Character Guided Meditations! Based on the six transformational character arcs that I shared in my book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs, these meditations are designed to help you access the deep symbolism of your own imaginations. While it’s true that reading about archetypes in a book or learning the structural beats of their arcs can be transformative, the true magic of archetypes is not found ..read more

Understanding how story works means stripping it down to the basic mechanics that undergird storyform itself. At its simplest, story is protagonist versus antagonist. However, it’s important to understand the definitions. Although we most commonly (and usefully) think of protagonist and antagonist as vibrant, three-dimensional personalities, the functional reality is a bit simpler. Protagonist is the part of the story that drives the plot via a forward-moving goal. Antagonist is the corresponding part of the story that creates conflict by obstructing that forward momentum. So what are antagoni ..read more

Where should you start plotting your story? Why, at the beginning of course! Except… when it comes to fiction, it’s not always that simple, is it? One of the key principles of story theory is “the ending is in the beginning.” What this means is that any consideration of how best to begin a story must always include considerations of how best to end it—not to mention all the stuff in between that gets you to the ending. So “where should you start plotting your story?” is a legitimately thoughtful question for any writer to ask—as did Max from Australia: I went back to a redraft of an earli ..read more