Whether through paintings, novels and books, news and journalism, or music, different types of creative stories can be powerful works of art and have emotional impact on the seer, reader, or listener. Although writers use a pen, pencil, or computer instead of a paintbrush, writing can be similar to painting a portrait for readers to imagine and behold with their eyes when writers create imagery in their short stories and books. One episode from the 1960s western Bonanza cal

Conflict is one of if not the most important story element in a short story or novel because it's what helps keep readers engrossed within stories and books. Similar to plot, conflict is an engine that moves a story forward. After all, if nothing is going on and there's nothing to overcome, there's no story to tell. External conflict is the obstacles and complications outside of characters in their story world, such as an altercation between two opposing attorneys, a fore

External conflict is the impact of outside forces that come against characters in a story. There are a number of different types of conflict, obstacles, and challenges characters could face during the plotline, but specifically there are six forces that characters are more than likely to deal with in some way or another. These include natural disasters or storms , supernatural or evil spirits , governments or institutions , people or villains, animals or creatures, and socia

In previous blog posts, I've discussed the four operations in characters, and the generic and complex emotions characters feel when...

Internal conflict is the inner battle within characters when they collide with external forces. Character emotion is one of the most important aspects of all fictional characters whether they're humanlike characters or animals like in the allegorical novella, "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. Emotions allow writers to impact their readers and cause them to feel something and relate and connect with their characters. There is a wide range of emotions characters can experience; b

Let's say you're a hiker lost in a national park while being on a camping trip. You're troubled and concerned about your safety; but...

Imagine you're a firefighter that rushes to an emergency house fire. The burning flames and suffocating smoke of the house fire is the...