Your story needs a successful antagonist – one who wins a lot, who has odds overwhelmingly in their favor, moves the story ahead and directly challenges the protagonist’s story goal. Without a powerful antagonist, your protagonist has nothing substantial to fight against—there’s little reason to cheer for them. Ways to…
Tag: beyond basics for writers
Top 10 Posts of 2018
Good-bye 2018!! Was 2018 a year that saw your writing become a priority or was it a year where maybe some things didn’t quite go as you’d planned them to? Either way, another year another blank chapter. Let this be the year you make the most of your writing dreams,…
3 Red Flags For Author Intrusion In Deep Point Of View
Readers want an emotional experience or journey in addition to being entertained. Many writers are looking for ways to create a deeper connection between readers and their main character. They want to create an emotional experience and deep point of view definitely can do that, but not if you undermine…
How To Write Fear Authentically Even If You Don’t Write Thrillers
Want to scare your readers? SHOW them what your character is afraid of! Your story needs life or death stakes (and not necessarily the murderous, knife-wielding, gravestone kind of life or death stakes). Fear and the body language of fear, should be topics every novelist strives to know better. Fear…
4 Tricks To Keeping Fight Scenes Authentic
You want to deliver the best punch possible to any action or fight scene because in deep point of view, the reader is IN THE ACTION so it better be believable. You need words that will pack a lot of meaning into them, show don’t tell, maintain a fast pace,…
4 Ways To Replace Dialogue With Subtext Even New Writers Can Master
Once I realized what subtext was and the different ways I could use it effectively, it became a go-to tool for deep point of view. I had a reader ask: Can subtext replace dialogue and how would that look? Subtext is silent communication. It’s the body language (posture, facial expressions,…