February Newsletter You can give us feedback via the contact form on our website. (If you reply to this email, we might not see it.) Have a wonderful month! | | By Bunny and Chris Winkle on 02/01/23 Violators will be punished. Read in browser » Storytelling, Characters, Plot By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/30/23 Hi. I have a story about an old Scottish nobleman working towards a just future, who then got spirited away to an alien world. As he learns more about the alien world, it too has social injustice. The nobleman eventually gets allies there and they defeat the bad guys. (Mostly the good aliens, I don't […] Read in browser » Storytelling, Endings By Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock and Adam Wik on 01/29/23 The encore of storytelling. Read in browser » Analysis, Endings, Plot By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/28/23 Will Spider-Man, Black Panther, or someone else take home the prize for best climax? Read in browser » Commentary, Outside Advice By Chris Winkle on 01/27/23 It's hard to meet our goals when we won't admit what they are. Read in browser » By Bunny and Chris Winkle on 01/25/23 This is what a great turning point looks like. Read in browser » Storytelling, Characters By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/23/23 Hello! How are you? In my story, there’s a group of people who regularly work together. Of course, with any story that has a group of people, there are going to be “roles” assigned to each character. How do I designate the “Strategist” from the “Group Leader”? Atlas Hey Atlas, great to hear from you! […] Read in browser » Storytelling, Characters, Plot By Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock and Emma Riley on 01/22/23 So many characters, so little time. Read in browser » Analysis, Characters By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/21/23 These characters travel in packs for added safety. Read in browser » Writing, Characters, Description, Wordcraft By Chris Winkle on 01/20/23 So readers are asking what your characters look like. Here's what to do. Read in browser » By Bunny and Chris Winkle on 01/18/23 This is what friends are for. Read in browser » Social Justice, Disability & Neurodiversity By Fay Onyx on 01/16/23 I’m working on a story about an early 20th-century carnival sideshow. The exhibits are not disabled humans. Rather, one’s a mermaid, one’s a highly sophisticated android, one’s a ten-foot-tall woman, etc. Given that none of the exhibits are normal humans, disabled or otherwise, is ableism an issue here the way it would be if this […] Read in browser » Storytelling, Movement, Plot By Oren Ashkenazi, Wes Matlock, Chris Winkle and Svend Phillips on 01/15/23 Move along little little story! Read in browser » Analysis, ANTS Comparison, Plot, Star Wars By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/14/23 It's time to get dark. Darker. Even darker than that. Read in browser » Inspiration, Novelty By Chris Winkle on 01/13/23 Even dark stories can add a little escapism. Read in browser » By Chris Winkle and Bunny on 01/11/23 You can't choose your family. Or can you? Read in browser » Storytelling, Plot By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/09/23 Hello! How are you? I was wondering: what exactly is the difference between a “plot twist” and a “retcon”? I don’t really understand it even after looking it up. Atlas Hey Atlas, great to hear from you again! In concept, the difference between a plot twist and a retcon is fairly simple. A plot twist […] Read in browser » Worldbuilding, Wordcraft By Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock and Diane Fisher on 01/08/23 This is no time to argue about time! Read in browser » Analysis, Characters, Tone By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/07/23 Giving Willow the grimdark treatment is an extremely weird choice. Read in browser » Analysis, Movement, Plot By Chris Winkle on 01/06/23 If a snail could move faster, it's time for an intervention. Read in browser » By Bunny and Chris Winkle on 01/04/23 Welcome to the expanded universe. Read in browser » Storytelling, Worldbuilding, Characters By Oren Ashkenazi on 01/02/23 Hey, first things first, I love your blog and got so much helpful writing advice here, so thanks for that! I have trouble finding interesting protagonist jobs in fantasy. I’ve read that interesting jobs can make characters more interesting and can influence the choices they make, the way they perceive their environment and so on. […] Read in browser » | | | |