by Nanci | Jun 15, 2026 | Character, Craft, Podcast
Secondary characters are often the most overlooked part of a story. Writers spend months inside their protagonist’s head and barely a moment asking who everyone else is when the protagonist isn’t in the room. The result is a story world that feels thin...
by Nanci | Jun 8, 2026 | Craft, Podcast, Structure
Most first-time novelists think in chapters — but chapters aren’t the structural units of your story. Scenes are. So what is a scene, exactly? And how is it different from a chapter? In this episode, I break down what a scene is, what it needs to do, how scenes...
by Nanci | Jun 1, 2026 | Craft, Podcast, Structure
You know your opening matters. You’ve probably rewritten it more than once. You’ve tried starting earlier, starting later, cutting the backstory, adding more tension. But something still isn’t landing and you can’t quite name why. The best...
by Nanci | May 18, 2026 | Character, Craft, Podcast, Structure
Your story feels stuck. You’ve reread the chapters, moved scenes around, added more conflict. But something still isn’t working and you can’t name what it is. There’s a layer underneath every stuck story that most writers never think to...
by Nanci | May 11, 2026 | Mindset, Podcast
When writers talk about their antagonist, they usually mean the person working against their protagonist. The obstacle in the way of him or her getting what they want. What often happens though, is that the antagonist becomes just one more requirement of the story....
by Nanci | Apr 27, 2026 | Mindset, Podcast
Have a story you’re burning to tell but can’t figure out where to begin? Think other writers have it easier? You’re not stuck because you’re not a real writer. You’re stuck because you’re waiting to feel ready. And that’s...
