Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It

Narrative device asks four questions: 1) Who tells the story? Through whose eyes (or from what point of view) do we see the characters and the action? 2) How does he/she tell it? In real time? In memory? In a series of letters? As a voice from beyond the grave? 3) What tone does the narrator employ? Loopy like Mark Watney in The Martian? Wry and kn

A fake writer (or artist or entrepreneur) is just trying to draw attention to himself. The word “fake” may be too unkind. Let’s say “young” or “evolving.”

But to make the villain a pure monster is a cheat. He must be recognizably and relatably human.

I‘ll do between ten and fifteen drafts of every book I write. Most writers do.

the darker the hero or heroine’s midnight hour, the more powerful will be their ultimate triumph/ salvation/resolution—and the more emotional will be the audience’s identification and involvement with him or her.

Every time we got stuck, Ernie said the same thing: “Have a body hit the floor.” He was talking about stakes.

When you try too hard, you have bad ideas. When you work mechanically, you have bad ideas. When you follow formula, you have bad ideas. When you’re desperate or panicky, you have bad ideas.

EVERY CHARACTER MUST REPRESENT SOMETHING GREATER THAN HIMSELF

If your Climax is not embedded in your Inciting Incident, you don’t have an Inciting Incident.