If we have a plot with no characters, I’m not sure what we have, but we don’t have a story.
Writing Obstacles—Plotting
Recent Blog Posts
Writing
Perfectionism
This is another in the series about common writing obstacles. Perfectionism is the bane of many a writer, even experienced ones. Each story must be perfect or it’s no good. There’s no middle ground. There’s no forgiveness for ourselves. We don’t allow for the fact we’re human, we’re frail, and, …
Obstacles to Being a Writer: Talent Versus Learning
This is another in a series on common obstacles to being a writer. Talent has been described as something you either have or you don’t. You can’t learn it. I and many others disagree with this notion. You can learn to be a writer whether or not you have talent. …
Obstacles to Being a Writer–Who’s Got the Time?
Over the next few blogs, we’ll be exploring some of the most common obstacles every writer faces at least once in their career. We’ll begin with the obstacle of time. “I think I’ve got a book in me if I could only find the time to write.” We’ve all heard …
Authors Who Influenced My Writing
Someone once asked me which authors influenced my writing. I was ready to snap off a few names, but stopped. I needed to think about it. In what ways, and in what areas, did they influence my writing? I ended up with a list of twenty-nine names. Now I had …
Keeping It Straight
Here are some things I’ve done to keep it all straight. I pray it may be helpful as you organize your own writing projects.
6 Lessons from a Writers Conference
Everybody we encounter can teach us something.
More Thoughts on the Birth of a Character
We don’t want readers to read about our characters, we want them to experience their lives in the pages of our stories.
Birth of a Character
People have asked where my characters come from. My response frequently is, “I don’t know. He just showed up one day and said he had a story to tell.”
Finding the the Right Word, Part 2
Finding the right word is part of editing when we look to improve the first draft by finding words that better express what we want to say.