Take a look at the following list of classic characters and the dichotomies that made them so memorable.

So how do you go about creating emotionally resonant stories? It’s simple: You create stories with which you resonate.

Often, it’s easier and more productive to start with the last scene in a series and work your way backwards.

A little dryness of mouth, a little dampness of face, a little quiver in the abdominal region – these are the symptoms of sheer, unadulterated panic. These are the symptoms of a good writer.

By letting the reader imagine all the filler details, the stuff that’s not actually important to the plot, readers create for themselves a scene that is both vivid and completely believable.

For better or worse, art (like life) is subjective. Not one of us looks at a story, a painting, a movie, or a concert in the same way.

Writing for an audience, instead of merely to an audience means you’re molding your artistic vision to please the whims of the public.

Nine traits of a good beginning.

Is angst a necessary ingredient for creativity?