Does your story need an antagonist?

The short answer is yes.

But to avoid the formulaic good vs. bad story, there are deeper questions to unwrap.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore:

• Why the standard definition of antagonist may be limiting your story
• The 2 most important questions to ask when developing antagonists
• What we mean by conflict
• A more nuanced and compelling approach to creating antagonists. 

Want to go deeper into the soul of your character and defy stereotype? Grab your FREE Character Questionnaire here.

And if you want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me, join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Every character you include, no matter how minor, or however brief their appearance, must serve the story you're telling.  Nobody should be in a scene for mere decoration or as a prop. 

There are no minor characters. 

Every character in your story needs to be made use of or let go of. 

In today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll talk about how to craft minor characters who have a major impact. And I’ll give you some examples to drive it all home.

While you're here, do you have your FREE Character Questionnaire? Grab it here.

And if you want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me, join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What is theme?  And why does it matter to your story? 

In today’s episode of  Writer Unleashed, we’ll talk about what theme is, what it isn’t, and how to arrive at yours. 

We'll explore:

• The common definition of theme that's keeping your story on the surface
• How to avoid off-the-rack themes that  have no impact on readers
• How to create a useful thematic statement that focuses and unifies your story
• The best way to arrive at your story's theme

To help you explore your themes, download your FREE 9 Story Starters PDF right here.

Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

If your first sentence is a dud, chances are readers won't give you a second chance.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore 5 elements that will hook your readers from the get-go and keep them wanting more. We'll peek under the hood of some great hook sentences from the masters, and unpack what makes each one irresistible.

We'll explore how to:

• Withhold to create suspense
• Raise expectations and  curiosity
• Juxtapose details to create tension
• Set your story in motion

And to help your practice crafting hook sentences, download your FREE Guide, 9 Story Starters right here.

Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Is your plot broken? 

First, what is a broken plot? 

It's when you start out with one conflict but lose confidence in your ability to move that conflict forward through a series of actions. So you shift to another conflict or even a third.

And pretty soon, readers are disoriented because they don't know where to focus. That's because there's more than one story happening.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore:

• The 3 things you need to get clear on to fix or avoid a broken plot
• The essence of plot
• What conflict is and what it isn't
• The relationship between plot and conflict
• And 5 questions to help  you stay anchored in your story's main throughline

Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Just because you're basing characters on real people doesn't make them believable or interesting. It's far more important for your story to work than it is for it to be true.

And even when people are portrayed realistically, they still might read as stereotypes.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll go over 5 techniques to transform real people into fascinating characters who stay with the reader long after the story ends.

We'll explore: 

• How to imagine your way into what you don't know about a person 
• Why focusing on what you find most intriguing about a person  can be the main ingredient, and even help shape your story
• The composite technique to character creation 
• How to find the right details to firmly embed this person in the mind of your reader
• The actor's technique to getting into the soul of your character

Grab your FREE 13 Questions to Deepen Character here.

Also listen to:

Episode 26: Writing About Someone You Know - Is Your Story Worth It?

Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Are you a memoir writer? Or a fiction writer? A novelist? Or short story writer?

Lots of people have a story to tell. But some are still flying blind after years, even decades of trying to nail down their story and elevate it to a publishable caliber.

If that sounds like you,  you may be focusing on the content of your story rather than its form. 

And form drives content.

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore: 

• The difference between writing a novel, memoir, or short  story
• The similarities between the forms
• What makes each form distinct,  and
• How to find the ideal form for your story

Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

In the theater of our mind, our story is a multi-dimensional, techno-color, high-def world teeming with life. But inevitably, in our early attempts to transfer that vision onto the page, that world disintegrates.

It’s where a lot of writers get lost. 

Or stop writing altogether.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore how writers like Ann Patchett and Ta-Nehisi Coates get past this very struggle.

We'll explore:

• Why there's no such thing as failure (unless you stop writing)
• The 3 stages of artistic development
• The Mozart myth
• What mastery is and how to move steadily towards it
  
  Take my FREE 6-day audio class on how to break through the most common writing mindset barriers
  
  Want to connect with more like-minded writers and with me?  Join us on our private Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. It's totally free to join. 
  
  

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

It’s a scientific fact: body language speaks volumes about what’s truly in our hearts and minds. And the same is true of your characters. 

Facial expressions, mannerisms, gestures, eye movements — non-visual cues, no matter how subtle, divulge what a person may be feeling in any given moment. 

It’s one of the best ways to show, don’t tell. 

In today’s episode of Writer unleashed, we’ll explore:

• How we decode non-verbal cues of people we encounter every day
• How to avoid labeling character emotion and reveal what they’re really feeling
• What gestures, eye and body movements, micro expressions  reveal about characters in ways that even they’re  not aware of, but the reader intuits
• How to bring subtlety to the dynamics between characters
• A fun, 2-part exercise to drive it all home

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group where I answer your most burning writing questions. Joining is FREE.

Grab more  FREE writing resources here.

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

We're all tired of being introduced to characters like the young man in his twenties with jet black hair,  emerald green eyes, and a chiseled jaw.

Even if a character looks like that, there are ways to make him more surprising and unforgettable.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll break down 3 techniques to write descriptions that bring characters to life.

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free.

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.