L.V. DITCHKUS

This is my first semester in my MA/MFA program, and in addition to my fiction workshop I needed to choose another course. I landed on screenwriting, mostly for practical reasons—I wanted a deeper understanding of dialogue and scene construction. What I didn’t expect was how much the class would change the way I watch movies. I’m delighted to say it’s teaching me not just how scripts work on the page, but how to truly see and enjoy films as living, breathing works of art. When

One of the most common criticisms of MFA and MA writing programs is that they turn out writers who all sound the same. Workshop voice. Polished, competent, interchangeable. It’s a fear new writers share—and one that established authors once believed. Alexander Chee—award winning novelist and author of “Edinburgh” and “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel”, admits that he, like many writers, once thought MFA programs existed to produce authors with a similar voice. The idea

You might think the comparison starts and ends with the fact that, for some folks, both activities are downright snooze-worthy to watch (my apologies to die-hard golf fans and anyone who keeps the Golf Channel humming in the background). But to me, the real similarity runs deeper—a whole lot of novice golfers and new writers believe they can perfect their craft entirely on their own. Both are really a competition with yourself. The golfer works to shave down their handicap, a

A craft flaw that many authors struggle with is how to strike a balance between what is overexplained and underexplained in your story. Let me clarify by giving a few examples: Overexplaining (i.e., repeating information that should be obvious from other text) “Why would you help us?” He glared at me as if trying to read my intent through my eyes. The reader should know the glare comes from the character being suspicious. It would be better to simply say: “Why would you help

Over the course of writing sci-fi—both short stories and longer works—I’ve come to realize something that might sound obvious, but it’s...

I recently wrote a fictionalized version of a personal family story. I want to share the steps I took to keep it emotionally true while...

I wrote my first science fiction story during a Central Colorado Writers’ free-write session. Our facilitator led the meeting wearing a...

Point of View or (POV) is the perspective from which a story is observed or narrated. How an author shapes the POV can influence the...

For me, it was easy to start writing novels without considering where writing fits into my life. I loved to write and felt I had stories...

Lately, I’ve been reading recently published books in the sci-fi and fantasy genres (e.g., Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway published in...

While most of my novels and short stories contain elements that (I’ve heard) can elicit a smile or an occasional audible guffaw, I’ve...

My jaw dropped when someone told me Lion King is based on Hamlet. Then I considered the storylines: Both are about an heir apparent who...

Maybe it’s our upbringing that makes the word No sound so final. About when we hit two years old, we started saying that word to our...

It’s okay to show up at a conference like a blank slate and drink it all in, but that’s not how I approach it. If I paid to attend, I...

A few months ago, I attended the Mountain Words Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado—a stunning mountain town with a world-class ski area...

While at this year’s RMFW conference in Denver, I picked up loads of writing craft tips, re-wrote the logline for the second book in my...

Don’t let opportunities escape—no matter how mundane or seemingly inane. We've just returned from a trip to visit dear friends in Ottawa,...

The storyteller’s point of view (POV) creates a bond between your readers and the story. As an author, you should consider whether that...

Each principal character in your novel or short story should be unique, and this distinctiveness is more than how they look. Every...

When there’s inconsistency in your story OR individuals act out of character, you’ve got a plot hole that needs to be fixed. Here’s a few...