Some of my favorite stories are those that trace their plot through multiple generations. We see the actions of the parents affect their children, and the choices their children make influence those who come after them. The audience is offered a front row seat into multiple perspectives, unbound by time. The impact of these stories…
After a lot of thought and consideration, Sophia and I have decided to step back from writing for the Story Fortress. While our articles are still up and will remain viewable, we’re both going to be focusing our efforts on upcoming projects and books that will diminish the time we set aside for writing for…
Your characters are ready. They’ve got the schematics. They’ve assembled their team. They’ve acquired all the high-end tech they need. Now, all they have left to do is pull off an epic heist. Heists are among some of the most common troupes in all of fiction. They’re fun to watch, and even more fun to…
Almost three years ago, Sophia wrote an article on showing a character’s internal conflict without having them burst into song. While some of our most powerful forms of storytelling include heart-felt declarations through intense choruses, the reality is that we as writers don’t have that ability, and even if we did, most of our characters…
Almost every reader has been there before: You pick up a fresh book, ready to jump into a brand new world, and are immediately greeted by twelve different main characters. Sometimes they all live in the same neighborhood, but other times they all live in separate countries and each tell a different story from their…
Many people get stuck on their novel during the editing stage. Some writers get too overwhelmed by the amount of critique they’ve received from their friends or an editor, while others simply lose interest or time for their story. Editing is a vital process when it comes to writing of any kind, but sadly, only…
Every single premise comes with a set of questions — it’s just the nature of storytelling. The very concept of a new world or new characters or new conflict comes with certain elements of wonder and curiosity. And on the one hand, those questions work to our advantage as writers. It’s our readers’ curiosity that…
If you’ve spent almost any time at all in the Avatar fandom, you’ve probably come across the question, “why did Zuko become firelord instead of Iroh?” Iroh, the wise old sage of the series, never fails to bring broadly-applicable wisdom to every situation, pushing characters into just the right position so that they can grow…
A lot of stories — from historical novels to science fiction series and everything in between — deal with romantic drama. It’s simply too easy to have your main love interests fall in love right off the bat with no obstacles or challenges. Any good storyteller knows that conflict generates interest in your story, and…
Romance is the best-selling literary genre in the world. Despite there being thousands of books out there in this genre, people are constantly clamoring for more of them. And whether romance is driving the main plot of a story or simply featured through a character’s loving parental figures, it is almost inescapable. Every author, every…