5 Emotional Resilience Themes That Work Best in Rhyming Picture Books
Failure is difficult to handle at any age, but for children it can feel devastating. Help them learn more about emotional resillience through rhyming picture books with the themes in this blog so they can learn how to manage new feelings, as well as other things.
Building Emotional Stakes: Why Your Story Needs More Than Just Explosions
Emotional stakes are what lead up to those gut-punch moments in a story that make readers care about what’s going on. If you’re new to writing or stuck on a draft that’s just not clicking, this is where you can fix it. Stakes aren’t just about someone getting chased by a bear. They’re about what’s […]
Layering Conflict to Bring Your Draft to Life
A lot of new writers (and even some who’ve been at it a while) get stuck with a half-finished manuscript because their stories lack the magnetic pull that keeps readers flipping pages late into the night. Their characters are going nowhere, or their plot feels stuck in the mud. The fix isn’t anything new or […]
Archetypes as Building Blocks: Writing Characters That Stand Out
Archetypes are established types of characters and themes that are commonly found in stories throughout history. They aren’t the same thing as a stereotype or a cliche, though. And they don’t have to be predictable either. When handled the right way, archetypes are simply a basis to create more unique characters and situations. Go over […]
Writing Siblings That Feel Real: Unspoken Codes and Shared Histories
Sibling dynamics are some of the most complicated, and we’re not talking about writing right now. If you have a brother or a sister, there have probably been times you were fed up with them, and times you wanted to give them the whole world. There’s no easy way to define what it’s like to […]
Knitting Needles and Murder: The Art of Cozy Mystery Writing
Cozy mysteries mix the thrill of a murder puzzle with the warm feeling of home. They often have charming towns, funny characters, and just enough clues to keep readers guessing. Even though a murder is at the heart of the story, there usually aren’t any graphic details. Readers love cozy mysteries because they offer a […]