BLAH BLAH BLOG!

Welcome to our BLOG, your one stop shop for all things Storyteller's Mission related, as well as any writing resources, news and tips that we think you may find useful.

 

Browse through the posts below

or search for specific topics using our search tool. 

Top Seven Essential Character Qualities of a Hero Nov 24, 2022

I have been saying for some time that a key hallmark of writing from a Christian worldview ought to be main characters who have all the makings of a hero. Instead of assigning to our characters the...

Continue Reading...
Five Key Character Flaw Insights that could Radically Transform Your Character’s Arc Sep 29, 2022

 A few weeks ago, a writer friend of mine reached out to me about an issue he was having in terms of the character arc. Every good writer knows that a fundamental principal of good...

Continue Reading...
The Number One Tool to Help Writers Create 3-Dimensional Characters in Story Aug 25, 2022

We hear it all the time. “Characters need to be three-dimensional.” But this exhortation can feel vague and confusing when it comes to story execution. What we need are specific action...

Continue Reading...
Four Crucial Insights to Help Writers Create Better Characters Jul 28, 2022

As writers, we know that the most important part of any story is character. At the end of the day, our readers won’t care about the plot or about how cleverly your story is executed if they...

Continue Reading...
Two Simple Techniques to Undermine the Readers’ Expectations and Keep Them Emotionally Hooked Jun 29, 2022

The essence of story is that the plot unfolds because of the choices a character makes under pressure to achieve a particular goal. Without a primary objective, there is no story, because...

Continue Reading...
 
Making Your Story Idea Commercial - Key Issues Writers Must Address to Succeed in the New Paradigm May 28, 2022

This special episode replays Zena's recent presentation as a guest on Writers Chat, where she was invited to speak on how writers can make their story ideas commercial. The answer, Zena says, is...

Continue Reading...
Four Essential Truths to Help Writers Reveal True Character in Story Apr 23, 2022

A client called me recently because she couldn't figure out how to reveal to her audience who her character really was at heart. This is one of the most important things we must do as storytellers....

Continue Reading...
5 Keys to Keeping Your Main Character Active and Not Passive Mar 26, 2022

One of the most important rules of story is that your main character must drive the action of the story. He cannot be passive. When you have a passive character, it means that things are happening...

Continue Reading...
Five Clever Techniques to Make Your Audience Care Feb 26, 2022

One of the most important skills you can learn as a writer is how to draw your readers into your story and keep them invested all the way to the end. You start by creating a character that is...

Continue Reading...
A Writer's Self-Worth: How Writers can Overcome Performance-Based Value - Part 2 Dec 25, 2021

When I wrote part one of this post, I had no idea that part two would land on Christmas Day. Christmas, where Christians celebrate the birth of the Savior, who came to deliver us from the just...

Continue Reading...
A Writer's Self-Worth: How Writers can Overcome Performance-Based Value - Part 1 Nov 27, 2021

One of the things I’ve noticed about artists is that most of us experience intermittent bouts of “Existential Funk.” Call them crises if you like, but the gist of it is that we...

Continue Reading...
The Hero's Paradox: Someone Flawed Plus Someone Great Oct 23, 2021

In my last monthly article, I argued that the world needs stories about heroes now more than ever. Why? Because heroes inspire us to be greater than ourselves, to surpass our own limitations or...

Continue Reading...
Why the World Needs Stories about Heroes - Part 1 Aug 28, 2021

This last week I got a call from a friend of mine who felt trapped in an existential funk. She said she hadn’t been able to write anything over the summer, not because she was out of ideas,...

Continue Reading...