The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. And that’s exactly how a story shouldn’t go. The journey in a story is like a garden path compared to a cross-country highway. The path…

As I’ve mentioned before, Kurt Vonnegut once said that every character should want something, even if it’s just a glass of water. Desires drive character. But there’s another side to purpose beyond desire. The other side…

The best characters are contradictions. They sit in these intersections between one extreme and another. The tough dude with a big heart The sadistic killer who tells jokes The nerdy professor who turns into a suave…