Posts on Writing Theory

The Body Language Vocabulary List

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Check out the videos below for more information on writing body language!

The Dilemma of the Budget Writer

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

As I’ve been going through the business side of writing my second book, I’ve faced a continuous struggle. Self-publishing is a money pit. You can spend as much money as you want to create the final product. That includes decisions regarding trim size and printing, book cover design, editing/editors, beta readers, and other various services.

And that doesn’t even include the software you might use to write, edit, research, share, or collaborate.

The Future of Writing Theory (as of now)

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

For those who have been along for the ride so far: I appreciate you! For those just joining Writing Theory as we grow: Welcome to the party!

What We’ve Accomplished in 2024

Almost exactly a year ago, I uploaded the first video to the Writing Theory YouTube channel. That video…wasn’t good. And that’s okay. It had a lot of heart, though!

I look back on this video so fondly. This is just a dude who likes to talk about stories. He didn’t know what would happen in the next couple of months. Shout out to my wife for putting up with my nonsense and helping me film this video.

Lessons Writers Can Learn From Video Games

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s keep this one short and to the point.

Lesson 1 - Character Roles and Depth

A story-driven Video Game can take a hundred hours of more for a player to finish. In that time, the player is surrounded by characters. These characters must do two things:

First, they must fill certain roles. If each character is mean to be the supportive friend to the main character, then the main character is never challenged. Conflict is introduced when the main character is surrounded by characters that have different outlooks, fears, and desires.

The Character Flip: Creating a Framework for Character Journeys

Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft is a great read. It’s also known as the indie darling of the fantasy genre that broke free of the self-publishing world and into the traditional publishing market. This means that you can now find these beautiful books throughout many bookstores all around the world!

Senlin Ascends follows Thomas Senlin and his wife Marya as the newlywed couple leave their fishing village and travel to the mysterious and enigmatic Tower of Babel for their honeymoon. The tower is enormous with countless levels. Those who live outside the tower have no idea how many floors the tower holds. Those born in those floors high above the clouds never visit to the dusty surface of the world, creating a clear divide where neither party understands the other part of the world.

Kill Your Darlings: Brutal Writing Advice

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Kill Your Darlings (KYD) is a piece of writing advice that is repeated over and over again to writers all over the world, but rarely does this piece of writing advice come with a description. What exactly does Kill Your Darlings mean?

Kill Your Darlings refers to the choice that every writer must make. When you write a draft, you will inevitably include content that you enjoyed writing, but does not truly service the story. As a writer, especially in the past when traditional publishing was the only option for a professional writer, you needed to identify and remove these scenes.

First Impressions Matter: Master the Character Description

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Character descriptions serve multiple purposes.

Firstly, they allow you to create memorable and distinctive characters in your novel. Secondly, character descriptions are a way for you to flex your writing muscles. Describing a character as tall, dark, and handsome is technically a description…but only barely. Lastly, a good character description is one that informs the reader on a couple of very important bits of information.

Scratch the First Draft: Start a Protodraft

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

What is the Protodraft and why is it your new secret weapon?

First, let’s talk about the First Draft. If you’ve never finished a First Draft, then you are not alone. Planning a story is easy, but once you start writing, it can quickly fall apart due to all kinds of different reasons.

Reasons Why A First Draft Fails

Writing Quality

The First Draft can fail for a number of reasons.

Writers Start Here: Planning a Plot

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Of all of the core components of creating a story, Plot is my favorite. In my opinion, you can have great characters and a fantastic setting, but if your plot is bland or boring then it doesn't matter. Your story will not entice readers. For others, they may think that Theme is the defining quality of a story. But, to me, we write stories as entertainment and Plot is what defines entertainment within stories.

Where To Begin?

As a new writer, the first thing that might cross your mind is the question: How do I come up with a plot?

Visual Story Arcs in Writing

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Story Arcs can describe all kinds of different journeys and resolutions within your story. I actually had a really tough time settling on the right word for this video. I needed a term that could describe the journey of an entire plot, an entire character journey, and every little mystery and resolution that happens to move the story along.

I recently read The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and had some immediate issues with how the story arcs were presented.

3 AI Tools for Writers

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

AI is a hot-button issue. If you have been close to the development of tech, or working within the tech industry, then you may be sick of it. Like I am. There are many enthusiasts of AI and many critics of AI. And, rightly so, there is a large conversation around the use of AI within the industry of art, creation, and content.

Ethics of AI

This article could be 10x longer if it was to focus on the question of rights, ethics, and moral use of AI. Before we discuss the use of tools in your writing, it is worth discussing (at a surface-level) these details of AI. The different parts of the AI are all dependent on each other.

On The Screen: Unlikable Main Characters in Cougar Town

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On The Screen is a series here on Writing Theory where we dissect television and film to better understand their decisions in storytelling and how you can apply it to your own writing.

Cougar Town

Cougar Town is a show that ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015. It stars a cast of characters lead by Courtney Cox as title character Jules Cobb. I’m currently in season 5, so I can’t say that I’ve finished the show, and I’ve been watching this show through a very interesting lens.

The Hardest Skill for Amateur Writers to Learn

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Writing any kind of creative story is more often a test of endurance than skill. Sure, skill is what sets apart the writing greats from many other authors; but routine is what makes a professional.

Setting a writing routine and returning to it when life interrupts you is the single hardest things for an amateur writer to learn.

Starting the Routine

This is the easy part.

You get inspired, you have a great idea for a story and you want to start planning the plot and meeting the characters and getting words on the page. You make time for writing because it’s something that now occupies your mind and drives you.

Common Questions: Don't Break the First Rule!

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Let me help you out.

Your story has a dozen characters, an interesting setting, a complex and engaging plot. You’ve got it all. But you may have broken the most important character naming rule and left your readers confused and frustrated.

Rule Number One: Letter Number One

Orson Scott Card penned not only great books, but also great rules for writing. One of the first rules you should implement in naming your characters focuses on readability.

Avoiding the Boring

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A story is simply a collection of scenes. Sometimes that may be a continuous story that documents every moment in real time. Although, more likely it is a story that tells a story over a long period of time. Scenes from different days, weeks, or even years.

An important skill for a writer is to know which scenes are worth including in their story and which moments are not important for the reader.

Common Questions: Naming Characters

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Naming a character may be one of the most important decisions that you make as a writer. You will write your main character’s name a thousand times in your writing process. The names of your characters are some of the most defined takeaways that a reader will have of your story. If you’re lucky, then your character may become one of your namesake creations.

Naming your characters must be done with purpose.

On The Screen: Modern Family

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:12:33 -0500

On The Screen is a series here on Writing Theory where we dissect television and film to better understand their decisions in storytelling and how you can apply it to your own writing.

Modern Family

Modern Family is a successful sitcom that ran for an astounding 11 seasons. It features three generations of the Pritchett family and a large list of characters ranging from patriarch Jay Pritchett, an old-school “man’s man”, to Lily Tucker-Pritchett, Vietnamese adopted daughter to two fathers.

Conflicting Goals and Unintentionality

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 09:41:16 -0500

The other day, my wife and I were building a raised garden bed with a fence around it (take that, stupid deer). It was an incredibly windy day here in Wisconsin. And we were shoveling some dry and dusty dirt into the raised garden beds. Those two elements do not play well together.

As I lifted a shovelful of dirt over the top of the fence and poured it into the garden bed, the wind whipped past me and blew the falling dirt into the eyes of my wife. She was working on the other side of the garden from me, unfortunately downwind.

On The Screen: How I Met Your Mother

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0300

On The Screen is a series here on Writing Theory where we dissect television and film to better understand their decisions in storytelling and how you can apply it to your own writing.

How I Met Your Mother

For those who don’t know, How I Met Your Mother is a network show that started in 2005 and ran for 9 seasons. The show is regarded in a positive light with memorable characters, enjoyable relationships, and fairly consistent writing. Naysayers may claim to only remember the disappointment of the finale episodes, but 9 years of highly-reviewed episodes more than makes up for a divisive ending.