The Story Equation

ACFWAuthors and writing, Brainstorming, Characters, Conflict/Tension, Learning, Organization, Plots, Story Structure, tips, writing 2 Comments

By Rachel Hauck I’ve been using Susan May Warren’s Story Equation (SEQ) for building characters and working out a high-level plot for over a decade. In our early days of writing, as Susie and I talked about our craft, she brought these principles to the table and created The Story Equation. To be clear, there are many good author tools. …

Writing Realistic Villains

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Characters, tips, writing Leave a Comment

By Darlene L. Turner What are the trademarks of a villain? Do they have dark, piercing eyes, a snarly grin, crooked-yellowed teeth, knobby fingers, an evil laugh? Or is there more to it than that? The antagonist can be the hardest character to write but also the most fun. How can we be successful at it? Here are some tips …