Hypothetical questions enable us to think of ourselves in a tangible situation, which makes it easier to see exactly what we want. The same goes for asking questions to get to know our characters. When we first create them, we have a lot we need to ask them, and hypothetical questions make that easy!
Read MoreWithout knowing character motivation, the actions behind the decisions of characters becomes meaningless, if not completely boring. Yes, the premise of someone quitting her job to travel across the country—and live uncharacteristically like a hippy—is interesting, but if you were to watch that movie or read that book and never discover why she decided she needed to take a cross-country road trip, you’d likely be pretty upset.
Read MoreWhether you're in a writing rut, need an idea for a new medium, or are tired of making excuses about finding the best story idea, this list of 365 story ideas makes it easy to find an idea that works for you and get inspired!
Read MoreFinishing a short story is one of the most exciting things a storyteller can experience. Often this is achieved in a short time, so you still have the rush of excitement and enthusiasm for your work that writing a novel may not permit. For that reason, you may be eager to start editing your story as soon as possible, but not know where to begin.
Read MoreWhen you have a story idea in mind, there can be nothing more exciting. There is so much possibility ahead, so many different ways you can envision your story coming together, that it can be difficult to sit down and outline the story, especially if you don't like traditional outlining.
That's why learning different outlining techniques are important. Quickly you'll learn that you don't need to follow a structure to outline your story, but can mix and match other techniques to find the best outlining method for you.
Read MoreWe've all been there—you had a period of time where you were on a writing roll, knocking out drafts, brainstorming tons of ideas, and then one day it just stops. You don't know why or how, but suddenly one day becomes a week and then a week becomes a month and then like that it's been three years since you've written anything at all.
Read MoreIf you're new to playwriting and want to practice playwriting, there is no better way than to learn how to write a 10-minute play. Not only is the piece short and sweet, but it makes it easy to practice over and over without wasting time. You can feel free to make errors, write dumb lines of dialogue, and tell a story that makes no sense all at the cost of 10 pages or so. (If that seems like a lot to you, remember that play pages are much shorter than fiction pages.)
Read MoreThere are so many guides available on how to develop a character, but very few on short story characters. Often this is the case because developing characters for novels versus short stories isn't very different.
However, often people writing short stories can lose time developing their characters and therefore put off writing!
Read MoreWriting a short story can often be intimidating, even if you've finished a novel recently or some other grand project. Despite it's brevity, a short story is much looser in its structure and up for a lot of interpretation. Because of this, if you're struggling with short fiction, it becomes difficult to look to classic structure for guidance—even if you're writing a more structureless piece.
Plus, not only is the structure much different, but it also requires more efficiency with your words, which is why knowing how to write a short story outline can be a lifesaver for some in the brainstorming phase, and even great for writers approaching second and third drafts!
Read MoreWhen you talk to most writers, you'll find that they often discuss how difficult it is to write a novel. And in many ways they are right. Writing a novel is grueling. It requires endurance, patience, and a lot of persevering through your own ideas.
As a result, there are tons of resources available to writers on how to write a novel, but very rarely are there guides on how to write a short story step-by-step. Writing a novel feels like much more of an achievement than writing a short story after all. Plus, there are so many different ways to write a short story, far more than writing a novel in fact, that finding one way to do it that works for everyone is impossible.
Read MoreAt this point in the series on how to write a video game script, you’ve brainstormed your idea and built out the world, meaning you’re now ready to fill that world with characters.
If you aren’t sure what this is referring to or haven’t yet built out your video game world, be sure to navigate back to the first post in the series using the navigation below:
Read MoreNow that you’ve learned how to approach writing a video game script, you’re now ready to start building the world of your narrative and start bringing it to life.
Though you can write a novel without doing any world building, it is absolutely essential for video games, as that is how all players will experience your story.
You cannot explore a video game through the mind, through contemplation and through thought the way you might in a novel—there always must be something for your character (and player) to wander through for your story to be a video game and not a movie or a TV series.
Read MoreCreative Writing Coach and Storyteller | Serving creative writers who want to write novels, movies, plays, and video games – and helping them learn how to write all four.
Hey there—I’m E.M. Welsh and I’m a writer and storyteller based in Texas. In my spare time, you can find me reading books, watching TV and movies, and playing video games. I also cook a lot of food and dabble in a plethora of other hobbies.
I’m currently working on my first book, which I hope to have published in 2024.
This blog is basically a diary of what I’m up to, random musings, and progress updates on my book.
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