-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, Why Realistic Motives Alone Don’t Create Believable Villains 3 months, 1 week ago
As long as a villain has a reason for his wicked behavior, he’ll seem real. Right? Or will he?
Shoppers grow hungry but don’t steal. Bank tellers get angry but don’t beat up customers. Hardships tempt people […] -
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, A 4-Step Guide to Writing a Murder Mystery 10 months, 1 week ago
Crafting a murder mystery for the first time is like learning the violin.
After listening to a compelling performance on Youtube, a burst of excitement overwhelms you. You’re sure that, with minimal pr […] -
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, Give Readers What They Need, Not Just What They Want 1 year, 1 month ago
If you’ve read widely, you’ve visited many intriguing places. You’ve traveled with a hobbit who learns to embrace his Tookish side and saves his friends. You’ve walked beside a Victorian woman through a series […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, 5 Ways to Infuse Tension into Stories of Any Genre 1 year, 8 months ago
We’ve all had heart-pounding experiences alongside fictional characters. We held our breath when Ethan Hunt made a last-ditch attempt to stop an explosion in Mission Impossible, pored over Pride and Prejudice f […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Write Healthy Enemies-to-Lovers 1 year, 9 months ago
If you grew up in the early 2000s, you probably mutilated a daisy at least once to help you guess whether your crush shared your feelings. You’d pluck off the petals one by one, reciting “he loves me” or “he l […]
-
First of all, this was hysterically entertaining. My eyeballs are blessed to have skimmed these words.
Secondly, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS. When done well, enemies-to-lovers makes for extremely compelling romance (Anne and Gilbert are one of my favorite literary couples) but it’s become one of my least favorite YA tropes, mainly because so many cases end up (unintentionally or otherwise) romanticizing toxic relationships. I’m here for the pettiness, not the abuse.
-
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Unlock Your Secret Writing Instincts to Fix a Story That Doesn’t Feel Right 1 year, 9 months ago
You’re revising a scene when a vague, restless feeling creeps into your gut. Somewhere, somehow your manuscript has taken a wrong turn. You see this as clearly as if a warning sign suddenly appeared in the m […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, Comparison Isn’t Your Biggest Problem (and Other Ways Envy Makes Writing Miserable) 2 years, 1 month ago
The most helpful writing advice I learned this year came from the letters of a demon.
C. S. Lewis published The Screwtape Letters serially in a newspaper called The Guardian. Eight decades later, I listened […] -
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Avoid Hurting Readers When You’re Trying to Help Them Heal 2 years, 7 months ago
Editor’s Note: This is the third part of our series exploring the merits of Coral by Sara Ella. You can read the first installment here. Beware that this article and its companions will contain sp […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, Character Goals Can Help You Craft Descriptions Readers Will Love 2 years, 7 months ago
Every once in a while, I drown in a book. The words form into currents that surge up and over me before I can hold my breath. I not only visualize the character’s situation, I feel every sensation.
Prose is th […]-
This is a very timely and insightful article, Gabby. Thank you!
-
I am notorious for erring on the side of brevity. This article was just what I needed in my drafting right now!
-
Really love this advice! The real tricks of the trade right here.
Also, side note: It’s fascinating to hear this from someone who experiences stories so viscerally. My imagination is not very vivid, oddly enough. I tend to identify with the emotional states of characters much more strongly than I have ever experienced/identified with their visual/sensory experiences.
The neat thing is that even though that’s the case for me, I can still glean the emotional state of the character from well-crafted descriptions, so this stuff *still* works great for me. Really neat how good artistry is powerful from a variety of perspectives!
-
Well, Ariana, every good first draft is always a mess! As long as you’ve outlined the plot (which it sounds like you have), you can always return to it, so there’s no need to worry. If you feel the best thing for your first draft is to stick to the outline, try doing that and then shading it with description afterward- as though you were sketching. But if you have a great idea from a tangent, see where it goes. It may be better than you originally planned.
Descriptions are things that I find play out best in later drafts, when I know what I want to say. I like what Gabrielle said at the end of her post, so I’ll turn it into a tip: If your character doesn’t care about the description, your reader won’t either. Perhaps you could use this as a check on your tangents- is it about to go somewhere the character thinks matters? If they don’t care about the guy across the room, then they aren’t going to study him as deeply as you may want to!
Hope that helps you!
-
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Create Villains Who Are Actually Intimidating 2 years, 8 months ago
Horror of horrors, beta readers keep telling you that your villain isn’t scary. You’ve given him a tragic past, control issues, and bloodlust. He even has an impeccable sense of style and color coordinates his wea […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Worldbuild without Losing Your Mind 2 years, 9 months ago
I tend to procrastinate about worldbuilding because it overwhelms me. I’m expected to design an alternate reality that’s as complex and nuanced as my own. Considering the thousands of cultural customs, geo […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, Why Consequences Are the Answer to the Plot vs. Character Dilemma 2 years, 10 months ago
Which is more important: characters or plot? Writers have been locked in that debate for centuries. Plot-oriented writers argue that conflict engages readers. But character-oriented writers insist that readers […]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, 4 Tried and True Methods to Stop Over-Editing 2 years, 11 months ago
I have a confession: trying to find the right words takes me ages. I obsess over sentence structure, vocabulary, and descriptions, pouring my time and energy into the black hole of unnecessary edits.
It’s a ha […]-
Gabby,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this article! I so needed to hear this and practice it. I am one of those self-critical editors that stress over finding the optimal placement of the article ‘a” in any given sentence.
I do need to find that volume switch on my internal editor and crank it down a few thousand decibels if I am ever going to get my WIP finished.
I will be following the great advice you have here.
Prayers appreciated. -
This over editor is very thankful for this article!!!
-
Definitely needed this article! I just edited the same three paragraphs 4 times in the past 24 hours. I must stop! lol Thank you!
-
-
Gabrielle Pollack commented on the post, How to Make Readers Fall in Love with a Romantic Relationship 2 years, 11 months ago
Yes! Pride and Prejudice is incredible for just that reason. Sacrifice is my favorite thing about any romance, and Austin’s story has plenty.
Thanks for reading!
-
Gabrielle Pollack commented on the post, How to Make Readers Fall in Love with a Romantic Relationship 2 years, 11 months ago
Rachel and Allyson,
I’m glad you both enjoyed the article! Good luck with writing your short story and novel!
-
Gabrielle Pollack commented on the post, How to Make Readers Fall in Love with a Romantic Relationship 2 years, 11 months ago
Welcome! Thanks for reading!
-
Gabrielle Pollack changed their profile picture 2 years, 11 months ago
-
Gabrielle Pollack commented on the post, A Reliable Test to Determine Whether Your Novel Glorifies Evil 2 years, 11 months ago
Lily,
I’m so glad you found my article inspiring! It’s so encouraging to me when other writers resound with the thoughts bouncing around in my head.
This is my first time rereading the article after our copy editor fixed it up, and I think she dressed that line up extra well. 😀
-
Gabrielle Pollack commented on the post, A Reliable Test to Determine Whether Your Novel Glorifies Evil 2 years, 11 months ago
Glynis,
Your comment warms my heart. I’m glad I could share my recent revelation with you, and I appreciate that you took the time to tell me how it helped you. Thank you so much for reading!
P.S. half the credit for the beauty of the article must go to our copy Editor, Brianna. She’s a ninja with words and made mine sound prettier than…[Read more]
-
Gabrielle Pollack wrote a new post, How to Make Readers Fall in Love with a Romantic Relationship 2 years, 11 months ago
Have you ever loved a relationship more than the characters in it?
Sure, Mr. and Mrs. Right were likable on their own, but their dynamic was so compelling that both of them dying would have been less […]-
Oooooh, lovely article, thanks for writing it!!!!!!
-
Welcome! Thanks for reading!
-
-
Thank you so much! I’m preparing to write a romance short story for an anthology contest, even though I’m not much of a romance reader myself. So this article came just in time!
-
That was so good!!! Thank you so much! I’ve never really written romance but I want to try and incorporate it in my next book and so this was a huge help!!
-
Rachel and Allyson,
I’m glad you both enjoyed the article! Good luck with writing your short story and novel!
-
-
I like the point you make about love resembling forgiveness. It made me think of why Pride and Prejudice still strikes a chord with so many readers. Darcy is sacrificial and giving even when he’s not getting acknowledgment or accolades, and Elizabeth is overcoming her own shortcomings to extend forgiveness. Love costs us, but it calls us upward for sure!
-
Yes! Pride and Prejudice is incredible for just that reason. Sacrifice is my favorite thing about any romance, and Austin’s story has plenty.
Thanks for reading!
-
-
- Load More