by Michael Mahin | Blog, Character Development, Picture Books, Story Development, Structure, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
What if I told you the structure of your story is already written and that all you had to do was fill-in-the-blanks? Sound too good to be true? It is. Kind of. While storytelling is never this easy, Eve Heidi Bine-Stock’s analysis of storytelling strategies... by Michael Mahin | Blog, Children's Writing, Creativity, Picture Books, Story Development, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
Plotter? Panster? Planster? When I first started writing, I was really obsessed with getting it right. I thought there was a right way and a wrong way to write. So I spent a lot of time reading about how the best writers do it. And it turns out, they do it in as many... by Michael Mahin | Blog, Children's Writing, Picture Books, Story Development, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
A story question is little more than your book’s theme stated as a question. It’s not a particularly revolutionary idea, but it’s a great trick for quickly and easily determining what your story is about. And why do you need to know what your story... by Michael Mahin | Blog, Creativity, Story Development, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
If you’re like me, you love writing. And…you hate it. Sometimes at the same time. We writers are full of contradictions when it comes to writing. We savor our alone time, yet we want to be loved by our peers. We want to create art, yet we want to be on the bestseller... by Michael Mahin | Blog, Book Reviews, Creativity, The Writing Process, Writers on Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Tips
REVIEW: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (Black Irish Books, 2012). Resistance is the name that best-selling author Steven Pressfield gives to writer’s block and those things, both internal and...