Author: Sophia Scudder

The vast majority of romance novels — both historically and in the modern day — fall into the trap of only truly developing their main two protagonists. It’s easy to do, after all. In the end those two characters and the conflict between or around them are the only things driving the story, and their…

Everyone knows the stereotype: the trusted advisor haunts the corners of the throne room, whispering poisonous advice and plotting deadly conspiracies while being beloved and adored by all. The readers know they’re the villain, the protagonist often knows they’re the villain, but no one else seems to notice. And this trope isn’t just confined to…

At some point in your life as a writer, you will have to choose a target audience. If you plan to be published at some point, or even if you simply want your writing to be read by someone other than yourself, you have to know who you’re writing for. It’s impossible to appeal to…

Most of the time, if you are reading a novel, you can trust whoever is telling you the story. Whether it be a character speaking from the first person, or an omniscient voice that whispers from the third, you believe everything they say because there is no other option. That character or that mysterious voice…

Sometimes, characters tend to sound like their author. And I’m not just talking about the way they talk in dialogue (although that could be a problem too!) I mean the fact that, although certain stories are supposed to be written from one or two point of views, oftentimes the very perspective of those characters end…

It’s no secret that Disney movies haven’t been great in recent years. With only a few exceptions, most of Disney’s live-action remakes and TV reboots have done nothing to inspire their disappointed fan-base. Although you could blame this on their recent lack of animation or music quality, most of their recent movies have flopped due…

In today’s stories, authors seem intent on including unique characters. Especially when writing relationships, story-tellers everywhere seem to be afraid of repeating even one simple character trait or core desire. Everyone has to be polar opposites from each other. And, it’s fairly easy to understand where this fear is coming from.  As writers, we need…

As a writer, the last thing you want is to have your character arc confuse your readers. Your character’s emotional journey is one of the most important parts of your stories, but writing them smoothly is easier said than done. It can seem easy to write  the protagonist’s main flaw in the beginning of your…