You’re sitting at a local coffee shop, waiting for your friend to arrive. You sip peacefully on your coffee, across from you sits your friend’s cup which you bought for them to surprise them. Suddenly the door to the coffee shop is open more…
Happiness is such an elusive and complicated word. And showing a character experiencing happiness can be all the more complex, especially when you need to do it through showing rather than telling the reader. Within the idea of happiness, there are…
One of the more abstract concepts to include in your story is the passage of time. Jumping from one time in your protagonist’s life to another is a complex thing and, if done wrong, it can leave your readers feeling confused and disoriented. The…
You’re walking home after a long shift waiting tables. Your house is a few blocks away so you feel fairly secure as you wave goodbye to your coworkers as they lock up and yell, “See you tomorrow!” You debate pulling out your headphones and…
Whether you have an important test coming up, your boss asks you to do a big project at work, or you’re a teacher in any given week, we all experience stress in our lives. How stress affects us and how we deal with stress can be crucial indicators…
You’re a week away from a vacation you’ve been looking forward to for months. Every day feels like at least two because time has perpetually slowed. You’re so desperate to kill hours that you take up new hobbies, start new shows, and even pick…
There are moments that the words don’t reach, there is suffering too terrible to name… This tear-jerking song from Hamilton is one of many examples of what it’s like for a character to experience ‘grief’. There are many examples of grief…
Think about a moment when you were growing up and one of your parents did something that stuck with you. It could be when they ran over and cleaned you off when you fell in the mud and started crying. It could be the first time you played catch with…
It’s not easy to talk about or go through, but going through emotional or physical pain can be a significant part of what shapes our lives. Thinking back on your life, you can probably remember with very sharp clarity all of the moments you’ve…
If you’ve ever taken a writing workshop class in your lifetime, you’ve likely heard your instructor smugly say the phrase, “Show, don’t tell,” as a general criticism of your writing. For those who aren’t familiar with this phrase that…
