Options for Suspense – Hitchcock’s bomb
How many ways are there to write suspense into a scene? It’s a major question—especially since really tightening the tension can be some of the heaviest lifting in a story we thought we’d already...
View ArticleMore than a Scene
It’s easy to think of a story’s scene as being about the next struggle or problem, or else touching a different base that hasn’t been mentioned in a while. That sense of “what’s next” may be vital, for...
View ArticleWriting for Five Senses – Combining Them All
Can you write a description with just sight and hearing? No, but those two can organize how all five senses fit together. (The Unified Writing Field Theory — searchings and findings on what makes...
View ArticleHow All Writing is Suspense
Why is my writing all about suspense? I think a better question is, is there any story that isn’t really about building uncertainty, making the reader wonder about what comes next, making them care?...
View ArticleThe Plot-Device Machine – Knowledge
“You can run but you can’t hide.” It’s simple truth, that getting distance from a problem may be no match for how “Knowledge is power.” And that’s only one side to how “who knows what” defines the...
View ArticleThat Ultimate Buffy Scene – Willow’s Long Walk
What does storytelling mean to me? Sometimes, I have to look back at the tales that make me glad to play in the writers’ sandbox. The moments, and the craft behind them, that have burned themselves...
View ArticleWhat I Write
If you look through my stories, you’ll see there are certain things I try to provide. Here are seven of them. “What do you want?” –That’s such a marvelous question. It can be the seed to a beautiful...
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