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Using Random Word Generators
I’ve written a fair bit on the theory behind conscious inspiration and the differences between it and the unconscious inspiration most of us are familiar with. I’ve yet to talk about what this conscious process actually looks like. Today, I aim to finally tackle that aspect by demonstrating how I come up with writing prompts…
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Creating a Stable Connection to Your Imagination
I mention Christopher Vogler so often on this blog, it’s become a running joke at this point. Though I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the two men who influenced Vogler’s work. The most obvious is Joseph Campbell, specifically his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. A subtle influence in Campbell’s work — one…
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What Critique to Ignore
I discovered the YouTube channel Psych2Go last year and have enjoyed several of their videos. One I keep circling back to is “7 Things You Should Never Apologize For.” The last time I watched it, I noticed how two of the things on their list were particularly relevant for writers: You should never apologize for…
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What Happens When There’s No Conflict?
An important lesson that I learned in my college philosophy classes was the value of indirect proof. Part 1 of this two-parter is what most people think of when you mention logical arguments and proofs: speculating what could be if a particular thing existed or reasoning out the consequences of something being true. However, in…
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Why Conflict is Necessary
Two years ago, I wrote a post where I asserted that every story must have a conflict. What I didn’t expand on then is why this is the case. That’s what I’m going to address today. This is one of my more philosophical posts, so grab a drink and get comfy. And though you and…
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The Virtues of a Functional Story
The reason a lot of beginning writers start learning how to write creatively is they have one amazing idea for a story. They imagine the twists and turns the plot will take the reader down, the surprise ending she never saw coming, with totally unique characters and setting. The writer is sure that it’ll be…
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Conscious and Unconscious Inspiration
We tend to think of inspiration as something that just happens, like vivid dreams or chance shower thoughts. They often feel like gifts from an external source — God, a muse, the Collective Unconscious, or some other cosmic power. These moments can be game-changing, so they ought to be cherished and recorded as soon as…
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How Do I…? Ellipses
Everyone knows what ellipses are, but when it comes to using them, there’s not a lot of definitive advice. The one rule that you’ll find consistently is that they’re used to indicate when and where you’re skipping over parts of a quoted text. That’s very helpful for academic pieces. For creative writing, not so much.…
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Can Dark Stories Be Uplifting? Part 4
I’ve talked about how dark stories can produce an uplifting feeling in the reader and how darkness and light can be balanced proportionally rather than equally. I want to end this series with my most important argument. Why can some readers leave a dark story feeling good or even hopeful? Why do these stories work?…
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Can Dark Stories Be Uplifting? Part 3
Last time, I talked about light and darkness in terms of narrative polarity, how a certain type of polarity reversal is the narrative mechanism behind producing an uplifting feeling in the reader, and how polarity reversals impact your story’s plot structure. In this post, we’ll be talking about proportion. To put it simply, I’ll be…