There is a structural problem at the heart of most failed stories, and it rarely gets named correctly. Writers diagnose it as pacing problems, or thin characters, or a second …

Most story structure guides give you a map. John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story gives you a biology textbook. Where other frameworks tell you what happens and when, Truby’s system …

Most story structure guides are written for a single protagonist pursuing a single goal. They cover the hero’s journey, the three-act structure, the save-the-cat moment. They are genuinely useful books, …

There are two kinds of writers who struggle to finish a novel. The first sits down with a blank page and no plan, writes furiously for three chapters, and then …

There is a story structure so familiar it has become invisible. A white character arrives in a community that is not their own — usually poorer, usually non-white, usually in …

Most conversations about diversity in fiction focus on whether underrepresented groups are present in a story at all. That is a reasonable starting point, but it misses the more revealing …

There is a version of diverse fiction that readers can feel immediately, even if they cannot always name it. The character who seems to have been added rather than created. …

Most conversations about diversity in fiction stay at the level of feeling. It seems like there are fewer female protagonists. It feels like characters of color are underrepresented. The argument …

Diversity in fiction is one of those terms that everyone seems to use and nobody seems to define. Publishers want it. Readers demand it. Writing guides recommend it. And yet, …