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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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

One of the most important things for your story is to have an active (not passive) main character who has a clear, objective goal to pursue throughout the entire story. And yet, one of the most...

I recently received a private message from a writer friend who said she needed my help. Keep in mind, this gal is already a competent writer. She’s put in the time. She’s learned the...

Zena Dell Lowe was honored to be a returning guest on The Story Blender podcast, a show where award-winning writer Steven James interviews some of the world’s top storytellers on the secrets...

One of the things we don’t talk about enough in writing is how easy it is to accidentally confuse the reader. Have you ever been trucking along, totally engrossed in a story, and then all of...

In part 1 of this blog post, we discussed the first five things that you can do as a writer to help reveal the character qualities that a true hero must possess. Today, we’ll discuss the...

One of the things that's really important for you to learn as a writer is how to create heroic characters. With only a few exceptions, your main character becomes the hero of your story. Therefore,...