Blog — Page 5

Most writers who struggle with flat characters aren't actually writing flat characters; they're writing characters who have nowhere real to stand. Build the world first, and your characters will surprise you.

Leigh Bardugo's heist novel solves one of fiction's hardest problems: keeping six distinct characters alive on the page without losing the plot's momentum. Here's what that solution looks like at the sentence and structure level.

Most writers know they need a world, but few know where to actually start building one. This guide walks through the core elements of world building so you can write with confidence instead of making it up as you go.