LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

Category: For Writers

  • The Secret to Writing Fascinating Villains

    What makes a villain fascinating? It’s not just about scaring the pants off the reader. The most terrifying thing a villain can do in a story isn’t killing the hero or blowing up the world — it’s making their twisted viewpoint seem morally right, and making the hero seem wrong. Because if the villain’s outlook…

  • 9 Surprising Things I Love about Writing (and One Thing I Hate)

    True story: When I was 17, I met an African storyteller. He traveled to distant parts of the world, collecting oral stories and writing them down for posterity. He was my first real-life writing teacher. His feedback helped me get started as a writer. Within a couple of years, I had sold my first magazine…

  • Making Fascinating Monsters on The Bibliosanctum

    How do writers create fascinating monsters? For me, it’s a many-layered process that involves thinking about where a monster came from, what it’s after, how it thinks, and what happens when it encounters the heroes. I actually got the chance to dive deep into the monster-creation process and explain how to do it step-by-step, thanks…

  • Why Writers Should NEVER Carry a Notebook

    Before I became a published author, I used to carry around a writing notebook in my back pocket. You know the kind I’m talking about: the little black book that tells the world you’re a Serious Writer. But that little notebook is a big mistake, I eventually learned. Here are three reasons why you should…

  • 6 Rules to Pump Up Your Writing

    When considering who gives out the best writing advice in the world, the first name that pops up might not be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But a decade ago, Schwarzenegger presented his “6 Rules of Success” in a now-famous commencement speech at the University of Southern California. And these rules just might hold the key to your…

  • 4 Writing Pitfalls to Avoid at All Costs

    Has your writing fallen into a black hole? Has your pacing dropped to a crawl, or your suspense become a snore? Do you just feel stuck? You might be sabotaging your own writing without even knowing it. But don’t panic. Here’s how to avoid the four most perilous pitfalls of writing.

  • 4 Ways to Handle Foreign Languages in Fiction

    When a character in your story speaks a foreign language, should you write it out in that language, or in English? How can you make the dialogue sound exotic without confusing the reader? These are tricky questions. Foreign languages can lend your characters and locations a more exotic flair, and even increase the dramatic tension…

  • How Effective Is the Pomodoro Technique?

    The Pomodoro Technique is deceptively simple. Set a timer for half an hour or so, ignore all distractions, and focus on your work. On the surface, it seems far too simple to be effective. But it does work. Amazingly well. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact moment my novel-writing career took off a few…

  • What Every Writer Should Know About Theme

    Theme seems to be one of those angst-triggering bogeymen that writers constantly wrestle with. But when you examine it closely, there’s really nothing complicated about it. Theme is simply the lesson the main character learns over the course of the story. (Or, in the case of a tragic ending, the lesson they failed to learn.)…

  • Never Suffer Writer’s Block Again

    Have you ever sat down to write, and found that everything you wrote seemed terrible? Every writer has felt that way, at one time or another. Here’s the uncomfortable truth about those critical thoughts: they can actually help you become a better writer. But only if you know how to recognize those thoughts for what…