
Stories From Litopia
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Structuring Scenes

I watched another excellent webinar recently. The content was helpful as both a planning tool and as an...
Second-Hand Love Letters – Part One

As couples get to know each other, they share the songs and poetry that mean the most to...
The Problem with an Orange

. I know what will easily rhyme with a duck. It's not what you think... it's good luck!...
Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 3 and summary.

Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 3 Let’s say the party had a magical bag of...
Golden Hour, Interrupted

My son and I are taking part in a music-dance-storytelling performance of Carnival of the Animals, and the...
You’ve Got Your Mother in a Whirl

Inspired by CS Dalton’s recent blog, Baking Day, I’ve been thinking about all the things my mother never...
How Interesting Are Your Characters?

The more complex your character is, the more interesting they are. The more interesting your character is, the...
Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 2

Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 2 Let’s talk about currency in general, for a bit....
Anthologising

Anthologising I’m relatively new to the short story game, having started my middle-aged phase of writing with novels...
Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 1

Gold is a pain in the ass, Part 1 So, your heroes have finally overcome all those incredible...
The Song of Bert and Harry: Sugar

Bert and Harry were walking along Main Street on a wet and miserable morning in late November. Both were...
Baking day

Today has been a baking day. Out of necessity, for work, but a baking day nevertheless. A baking...
Conflict

What is narrative conflict? Narrative conflict is a fundamental element of storytelling that involves a struggle between opposing...
Why Is This Your Character’s Story To Tell?

I watched an interesting webinar recently. Part of it focused on the title question of this post. At...
If Writing Were Choreographed

In a studio far, far away... There once was a girl. What's this? That's not a start. It's...
Narrative Tension

Do readers care about what happens to your character? Are they invested in their journey? How can we...
People Like Those: Jonathon

I first met Jonathon in the early 90s, and we became mates or buddies rather than close friends....