As a seasoned travel writer, I've come to deeply appreciate the way food can be leveraged as a powerful storytelling tool, particularly in fiction. Beyond its universal appeal, culinary experiences have a unique ability to transport readers to new worlds, reveal insights about characters, explore new cultures, and illuminate deeper themes.
Worldbuilding is a world in itself. It's not just about exploring what you can do in the world but about what is not possible. Understanding how limitations can actually fuel our creativity is understanding another way to enhance our stories.
You know that feeling all too well. The research books piled high; interviews and historical accounts catalogued. For my latest novel Girl in the Ashes, I wanted to get it right—the sights, the smells, the desperation of Occupied Paris during WWII.
There's an art to eavesdropping. It's not about being nosy or intrusive, but about observing the nuances of human interaction—the pauses, the inflections, the unspoken cues that reveal as much as the words themselves. As a writer, this skill is invaluable. It allows you to capture the cadence of real conversation, the rhythms and patterns that...
Classic novels have long served as playgrounds demonstrating human motivation, piecing together intricate stories of love, loss, triumph, and tragedy, anchored by the motivations of their characters. It's their reasons— and the decisions they make based on those reasons—that transform the words on a page into living people whose choices profoundly...
It's obvious storytelling is all around us, especially if you want to tell stories. We even hear about storytelling in marketing, storytelling in finance, storytelling in advertisement. Every angle needs a story.
This week, we delve into the power of setting and the intricate details that breathe life into your narrative.
