Writing Tools & Resources

A workspace for mapping the moving parts of a novel in progress — characters, structure, midpoint, and more.

A generator for wound and false belief — the two things that exist before everything else in a character's life.

A workspace for the individual unit of story — purpose, conflict, POV, and what changes by the final line.

Put in a premise and interrogate it. Does it create irresolvable conflict? Does the want oppose the need? Find out before you write eighty pages.

Describe your story and map it against the full framework — want, need, fear, false belief, mirror, opposing force, pivot, theme. An interactive extension of the Analyzing Narrative series.

Write opening lines and examine what they promise, what they withhold, and whether they create the forward motion a first line needs.

Describe your story and work backward to the theme underneath. Useful for writers who are deep in a draft and need to understand what they're actually writing about.

The fundamental narrative situations underlying all fiction — from Quest and Pursuit to Transformation and Descension.

The fundamental roles that recur across all storytelling — Hero, Shadow, Mentor, Trickster, and the rest.

The psychological core beneath every compelling character — a glossary of formative wounds and the mistaken convictions they generate.

The fundamental types of opposition that drive every story — from Man vs. Self to Man vs. Society.

A comparison of the major structural frameworks for fiction — the Three-Act Structure, Hero's Journey, Fichtean Curve, and more.

What every scene needs to do — and the questions to ask when one isn't working.

Plain-language definitions for the terms that come up most in writing about fiction — inciting incident, free indirect discourse, dramatic irony, and more.