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One of the worst things you can do in story is write a passive character, but how do you keep your main character active and not passive?

As a writer, I have learned that when it...

I hope you’re making progress on your current writing project, in spite of the fact that it’s summer. This season can make it difficult to stay on task for a number of...

I recently had one of my former coaching clients reach out to ask for some advice. He’s a seasoned author who is new to the world of screenwriting, and he’d just finished his...

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn as a human being is what to do when I’m in over my head. I’m talking about those times in life when I feel so...

 Recently, as I was puttering around on Twitter, I ran across several tweets from writers to the writing community, asking specific questions about their MC's. These questions...

 I’m regularly approached by novelists who want to learn how to write screenplays because they’re interested in seeing their own projects made into films. There’s nothing...

One of the hardest things to learn as a human being is how to take constructive criticism with grace. It's difficult to hear negative feedback about things we've said or done or written...

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...

 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...

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...

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...

When you think about heroes, what comes to mind? Somebody from your family? Superman? Maybe an historical figure who did something great? For me, the word “Hero” makes me think of my...

On Day 2 of The Well, Zena Dell Lowe delivered her second keynote presentation. This time she focused on the power of visual images -- particularly the power of storytellers who use visual images...