The Power of Plot
Things like Ideas, Characters, Attractive Power and Emotional Commitment usually take place in the scenes or chapters of a work, or build...
Emotional Commitment
Let’s say that you have a work jam-packed full of powerful ideas, bristling with exciting and recognisable characters, and filled with...
Attractive Power
Whether or not you have good ideas and working characters, the trick underlying everything is to be able to attract readers. This is a...
Ideas and Your Fiction
Ideas underpin any piece of fiction. They make the difference between the book that doesn’t get sold and the bestseller; they also make...
A Brief Look at Desdemona in 'Othello'
If we accept momentarily that there is a female companion archetype in fiction, as outlined in How Stories Really Work, then it’s worth...
A Handy Glossary of Drama Terms
Drama has its own terminology. Understanding it helps to understand the plays and their meanings more fully. Here is a handy glossary of...
The Wisdom of E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970), known as E. M. Forster, was an English novelist, short story writer and essayist....
Building Vocabulary
Anyone interested in improving their job opportunities, raising their IQs and boosting their success in the education system could...
The Skeleton of 'Hamlet'
Imagine a story which begins with death. A young man who has lost his father is being brought up by a close family member, but encounters...
7 Things to Keep in Mind About Writing
A simple search on Google will give you a glimpse of the many thousands of books and blog posts that there are on writing. And on this...