When Aristotle spoke of educating the heart, he meant that one must be emotionally intelligent. Of course, the term emotional intelligence didn’t come into common use until after the publication of the book by the same name in 1996. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of…… Continue reading Educating the Heart, the Writer’s Heart
Category: How To’s
Conflict: Twist the Knife Slowly
Conflict: Week 3 of Re-visioning Your Story Violence is not Conflict. It is not action. It is not bickering, or worry, or dreams, or traveling. Unfortunately, many seasoned and novice writers mistake one or all of those things for conflict. Why is conflict so difficult for the writer? Because human beings naturally shy away from…… Continue reading Conflict: Twist the Knife Slowly
Putting the Pieces Together
Part 8: Revisioning Your Story Wow. It’s been a long haul, but you’ve analyzed your story for seven long lessons, from Character Goals to Plot Twists to the End and the Beginning. Now it’s time for putting the pieces together. Finally, it’s time to fix it. What? You’re worried that you can’t fix it or…… Continue reading Putting the Pieces Together
From the End to the Beginning
Many writers spend a lot of time crafting the critically important beginning of a story. Did you know the ending is just as important?
Is There a Time and Place in Your Story?
Set the time and place in your story. It makes a big difference, like the difference between Sleeping Beauty’s castle and Windsor castle.