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Technical Skills

A collection of 8 posts

Theme Queen
Effective Story Telling

Theme Queen

Having a deep connection to a theme is one reason a reader can’t set that perfect book down.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
3 min read
That Pivotal Moment
Effective Story Telling

That Pivotal Moment

Thank goodness Bilbo ran after the Dwarves and Lucy explored that wardrobe. Otherwise, we would spend hundreds of pages just watching Bilbo eat and some bored kids waiting out WWII in the countryside.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
2 min read
I’m Conflicted
Character Development

I’m Conflicted

These conflicts inside the heads of your characters are not just there for window dressing. They serve a structural purpose in your storytelling.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
3 min read
Brainstorm Forcasted
Technical Skills

Brainstorm Forcasted

I used the affinity diagram to help me think through the implications of my protagonist’s socially isolated upbringing.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
4 min read
To Infinitives and Beyond
Technical Skills

To Infinitives and Beyond

Being mindful with our use of infinitives and gerunds can help us better underscore the mood and feeling of our writing.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
2 min read
Because I Told You So
Technical Skills

Because I Told You So

Instead of whispering our narrative into the reader’s ear, let’s transport them into the middle of the action and allow them to directly experience the story.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
2 min read
Cause and Effect
world-building

Cause and Effect

Like the ripples in a pond disturbed by a stone, each rule we set down for our fictional world pushes out a series of consequences.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
3 min read
A Recipe for Character
Writing

A Recipe for Character

They are silly, sometimes wrong, bickering, and earnest human beings. How they say something and interact is more interesting than the ostensible topic at hand.

  • Amy Diane Short
    Amy Diane Short
3 min read
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