Category Archives: Creative Writing

Need inspiration or a cure for writer’s block? You’ll find it here. This category focuses on the creative process from organizing your writing time to developing your ideas and finding your author’s voice.

Browse through the list or use the search box at the top of the page to find just what you are looking for, and may the Muse be with you!

Smothered in an Avalanche of Ideas

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

One of the writers I coach recently wrote to me about getting drowned in a sea of ideas for his story, unable to organize his material, make choices, or more forward. Here is the note I wrote him in response … Continue reading →

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Finding Your Story’s Core

Posted on November 24, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Every story has a core – that concept at the center that pulls all of the story elements into a cohesive whole, establishes meaning and message, and provides the story with an overall identity. There are four fundamental kinds of … Continue reading →

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In Search of Your Writer’s Identity

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Sweet potatoes are the best.  And they are best described in Ralph Ellison’s story of a black man coming to terms with his identity entitled “Invisible Man,” in which he has always avoided eating his favorite childhood food, hot buttered … Continue reading →

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The Author’s Journey

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

We’ve all heard of the hero’s journey that focuses on what stories need to be complete.  But consider that it is equally important to explore what authors need to complete stories. Many story development methods look first to construct plot, … Continue reading →

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Spin a Tale, Weave a Story

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

The common expression “spinning a yarn” conjures up the image of a craftsperson pulling together a fluffy pile into a single unbroken thread. An appropriate analogy for the process of telling a tale. A tale is a simple, linear progression … Continue reading →

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Tear Your Story Apart

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

By necessity, authors are so focused on what they are putting into their stories that they often don’t think about what isn’t there.  Yet the early stages of story development only create a framework – a skeleton – and for … Continue reading →

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Writing Stories with a Collective Goal

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Some novice writers become so wrapped up in interesting events and bits of action that they forget to have a central unifying goal that gives purpose to all the other events that take place.  This creates a plot without a … Continue reading →

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The Master Storyteller Method

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Perhaps the greatest hurdle in writing is the attempt to bring structure to a story without putting your Muse in a straight jacket. Often structure is brought into the picture too soon, clamping your passion into an iron maiden that … Continue reading →

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Have Your Characters Write Their Own Life Stories

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

For your characters to be compelling, your readers will need to think of them as real people, not just dramatic functionaries or collections of traits. To help make this happen, have each of your characters write a short one-page autobiographical … Continue reading →

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Use Nicknames to Enrich Your Characters

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Nicknames are wonderful dramatic devices because they can work with the character’s apparent physical nature or personality, work against it for humiliating or comedic effect, play into the plot by telegraphing the activities in which the character will engage, create … Continue reading →

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