Apparently, it was Hippocrates who first said something to the effect of “Life is short, art is long”–but it could just as easily have been a fiction writer. Chances are, if you’re writing fiction now, this art form got a hold of you when you were just a kid, swept up in the magic of books that transported you to … Read More
What Character Arc Isn’t
I write a lot about character arc, and I talk a lot about it with my clients. Because if there’s a magic bullet for creating a novel that sucks the reader in, holds her attention, and ultimately makes her feel like it was worth the 6+ hours it took to read that book, character arc is it. Many writers are … Read More
What’s your cup of tea?
If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve probably gotten to the point where you treat your writing like work, whether or not anyone is actually paying you for it–and that in many ways is the mark of a professional. But creative writing really is NOT like other forms of work, and at this time of year–which in so many … Read More
Traci Skuce in conversation with Susan Defreitas
On February 7, I had the pleasure of presenting on one of my favorite subjects at Traci Skuce’s Write Your First (or Next!) Novel Summit. You may hear me getting a little evangelical here about character arc! It’s a subject I speak and write about often, because I believe it truly is “the heart of story.” Never miss a post! Subscribe … Read More
