Physical comedy can be over-used. Bathroom humor is a staple of physical comedy, but too many fart jokes can spoil the story. Physical comedy can also be abused. If a humorous act has an element of bullying, the act is humor no more. Empathy, one of Comedy’s Building Blocks We winc...
before you write the manuscript. Perfect the blurb. Make it so drool-worthy that everybody will want to buy a copy of your book. Then, and only then, write the manuscript that fulfills the promise. Chances are, you willwrite a better bookif you let the blurb ...
Believe it or not, it's easy to write gripping action scenes—if you know how.In Part 1 of this article, I showed you how to break down complicated action scenes into their component parts: location, characters, goals, and actions. Now I'll show you the real secret to wrapping up any...
These decisions will guide your story’s theme. A humorous personal narrative, for example, may share an embarrassing experience that reminds your readers that a true friend will laugh with them. Everything you write will work towards that purpose. Choose Your Characters Decide who you want your...
Want to learn how to write flash fiction stories? Champion the short-short story by reading our analysis of the flash fiction form.
Will you be writing a personal narrative from your own experience, retelling a historical event or crafting an original piece of made-up fiction? Do you want to make your readers laugh, cry or tremble? These decisions will guide your story’s theme. A humorous personal narrative, for example...
Deep POV helps youeliminate excessive telling. Why? Because to write from a character's deep perspective, you can't have 'telling' phrases such as 'she/he/they felt/saw/thought that...'. To illustrate, let's compare these two examples. The first contains filter words (words that filter...
Six word stories are a great way to practice your writing without actually having to write much. Try this prompt for a (very!) short story.
Zinsser, in the text “On Writing Well,” provides some useful advice to writers who aspire to write humorous prose. First, the writer should never strain for laughs. Instead, the writer should focus on surprising the reader. Secondly, the writer should write about the truth, real people, ...
Learning how to write a hook is a matter ofpracticing writing sentencesthat are filled with mystery and suspense. It means mastering pace, too. A rapidly unfolding, breathless opening would naturally suit a high-stakes thriller where the protagonist is thrown into conflict situations from the first...