by kingdompen | Sep 13, 2017 | Articles, World Building
By Amy CaylorI've always adored fantasy. I’m fascinated with princesses in castles and knights battling dragons. But I especially love magic (and yes, Christians can write about it with discretion). To live in a world where books have self-turning pages and...by kingdompen | Jun 12, 2017 | Articles, Characters, Style
You’ve just created a new character and are excited to share his point of view with readers. He’s witty, charming, flawed, and about to embark on the adventure of his life. You’re desperate to bring readers up close and personal with him. If you don’t, you’re...by kingdompen | May 29, 2017 | Articles, Characters, Theme
The core of story is conflict. If your story contains no struggle, it’s just a tale about nobody important who never overcame anything. Conflict takes many forms; physical, mental, and spiritual conflicts are all crucial, and even necessary. Ideological conflict,...by kingdompen | May 22, 2017 | Articles, Characters, Theme
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a hero in possession of reasonable talents and good looks must be in want of an arch nemesis.” Although the above statement is nothing more than a bad Jane Austen paraphrase, every writer knows that a story is vapid without...by Josiah DeGraaf | Apr 29, 2017 | Articles, Theme
Few flaws can kill a story’s theme and message as much as blatancy. We’ve all read books that constantly hit us over the head with the author’s beliefs. Afterwards we resolve never to do this as authors. But then we sit down to write and realize how easy it is to make...