Writing tips, storytelling craft, world-building secrets, and the honest account of life as a fiction author and book coach.
The secret to a compelling protagonist isn't perfection — it's vulnerability. The heroes we remember aren't the ones who were always strong. They're the ones who found strength despite their fear. Here's the framework I use to create protagonists readers can't help but love...
Read Full Post →Your first sentence is the most important one you'll ever write. It's the handshake between you and your reader — and it has to be extraordinary. In this post, I break down what makes an opening line unforgettable.
Read More →Great world-building isn't about complexity — it's about consistency. In crafting the world of Blackstone, I learned that readers don't need every answer. They need to feel that the answers exist.
Read More →The most common mistake in early drafts? Scenes that exist just to exist. Every single scene in your book must do at least two things: advance the plot and reveal character. Here's how to audit your manuscript.
Read More →Publishing Blackstone taught me more in six months than years of writing classes had. Here's the honest truth about what the independent publishing journey really looks like — the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
Read More →Before we can fix your manuscript, we need to understand what you're really trying to say. These five questions cut through the noise and help you find the true heart of your story — and your motivation for writing it.
Read More →Young Adult fiction gets dismissed as a "lesser" genre by literary snobs who've never experienced its emotional power. I'm here to argue that YA is doing something no other genre can — and the numbers back me up.
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