Creative Writing Help and Lessons

This is the "how-to" page, and the place to get creative writing help. I intend to write as many creative writing lessons and articles as I have time for,

I will include my thoughts on all aspects of writing craft: plot, point of view (POV), scenes and sequels, cause and effect, tension, character development, setting, tense, description, poetics, tightening and polishing, dialogue, and everything else I can think of.

If you need creative writing help on a particular subject and you do not see it here, please contact me, and I'll make that creative writing lesson a priority and add it to my to-do list.

This page will contain an ever growing compilation of creative writing lessons and help articles, so please check back often, or keep the site open as you write for easy access to its contents.

Creative Writing Lessons

1. Character Motivation: Why Characters Act
   
2. Creating Characters, Part I
   
3. Creating Characters, Part II
   
4. Flashback: Using it Effectively
   
5. Internet Resources for Creating Fictional Characters
   
6. Participles:Bothersome Verbs to Avoid
   
7. Passive Verbs: Avoid Them (and still use "was")
   
8. Plot Outline with What If? and Why?
   
9. Plot Your Stories
   
10. Point of View
    
11. Punctuate Dialogue Correctly
    
12. Scene Action-Reaction Chart
    
13. Scene Length
    
14. Scenes and Sequels: Essential Building Blocks
    
15. Scene Questions Hold Reader Interest
    
16. Story Action: Make Something Happen!
    
17. Tight Writing Gets Published
    
18. Tips for Writing a Novel
    
19. Writing Dialogue with Good Tension
    
20. Writing Story Settings