Category: Essays
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Inner and Outer Mode for Fiction Writing
Both techniques, if used correctly, can provoke feelings from your readers In a previous essay, I wrote about why fiction writers (and writers in general) should focus on provoking an emotional response from their readers. Allowing your readers to experience your fiction will make your work stick in their minds. If you are like me,…
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The Importance of the Emotional Journey in Fiction
Why crafting an experience for your readers is just as fundamental as plot. When people discuss writing fiction, they often speak of plot, story structure, character arcs, and show don’t tell. But a piece of advice I don’t see at all is how to craft an emotional journey for your reader. How to stoke feelings…
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One Limitation You Must Set To Unlock Your Creativity
It’s a simple solution that can be hard to commit to. Limitations, at first, seem counterintuitive to creativity. The belief that if you limit yourself, you limit your artistic output is misguided. It doesn’t take into account the numerous creativity breakthroughs that were a direct result of constraints set upon the creative. Without limitations, the…
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Accountability Isn’t About Consequences But Taking Ownership
Acknowledging your role in outcomes will help you learn and grow as a creative. But accountability shouldn’t be about consequences and punishment. Accountability shouldn’t be concerned with fault. It should be concerned with responsibility. Ownership. Be willing to learn from your mistakes rather than defending or hiding from them. Proactivity over reactivity. When you are…
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Why understanding your Why will bring clarity to your creative work
And how you can figure it out Having a strong emotional stake in the outcome of your actions is the secret to success. Not discipline. Not willpower. Before starting my creative journey and getting serious with my art, I didn’t know my Why. I was so focused on survival and stability, I didn’t take a…