In all the years I’ve been writing, my stories very rarely – if ever – begin with a plot. The catalysts of my plots are solid character concepts. The oddest events created some of my most memorable characters. One character, Diego Beauchamp, was born to mind after watching an episode of Trading Spouses. I liked [...]

Sometimes the story makes the novel. A great idea, the perfect plot line, and you’re off and soaring. But have you ever thought that your characters might be the reason people want to read more? Some of the best novels I’ve ever read are the ones where the characters become people that I fall in [...]

“Aw, man! There’s no way I can believe that!” “C’mon, Pete,” I roll my eyes at my roommate. “It’s a movie, for crying out loud. You’re too much of a Virgo.” He really is. “You analyze too much.” He does have a point, though. How seriously were we supposed to take Conan the Barbarian? Writing [...]

When we announced the start of a new series focusing on fiction writers, we were surprised at the reaction we received. It seems many of you have a novel up your sleeve, hiding in your files or tucked away in your thoughts. Reading the comments readers left, I couldn’t help but wonder… What the Hell [...]

I do most of my thinking at night. My mind is like a highway, with one thought leading to another like endless exits to new locations. The bright lights of oncoming traffic are flickers of ideas. Most of them pass by, barely warranting a casual glance. They flash white, and then fade to dull red [...]

Recently, James brought something to my attention: We hardly ever address fiction writing on our blog. That’s a shame, because storytellers are a group of people with unique, distinct needs and questions. (They’re also interesting people.) So we’re going to do something about it. We’re writing a phenomenal series of posts specifically aimed at all [...]