Your Story's A's & B's
What ARE your story's A's and B's? The A's and B's of your story are your plot and the subplot. The premise versus the heart of the...
Blog
Karina M. Sokulski
- Apr 26
Values Vs Virtues
When building a character, one of the first aspects that comes into consideration is what the character values. What manner of justice is...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Mar 1
Enhancing Setting with Nature
No matter the genre you’re writing, setting is always key to a story. Setting is a writer’s backdrop canvas of geographical tone. From...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jan 28
Determining Themes for Your Story
Starting a story is always the hardest step. There’s a world to construct, characters to develop, a plot to chart and thematic value to...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jan 26
Writing Temporary Blindness
“Padraic swings his flashlight beam over the tracks again and finds a pretty little music box with a hand crank on top. Padraic lifts the...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jan 2
Writing Habits to Develop for the New Year
Let’s face it. Recovering from the impact of 2020 is going to take a while. No matter how steadfast we march forward into this new year,...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Dec 1, 2020
Brainstorming Opening Scenes
Opening scenes have always been tough for me. So many notes to hit and so little time. Worse, opening scenes lead to first chapters that...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Oct 21, 2020
Inspirational "Fox-Holes" of the Internet
Whenever I find myself in need of an inspiration boost for my writing, I like turning to my favorite “internet fox-holes” that occupy my...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Aug 27, 2020
Types of Character Arcs
In any writing, effective characters are vital to a compelling story. This is especially true if a writer finds themselves the creator of...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jul 31, 2020
Writing a Character Study
Writing a compelling character is vital to any story. Providing your audience someone to root for and worry over is part of the...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jul 31, 2020
How Writing Killed Kenny
It isn’t necessary to have seen a single episode of South Park (created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone) to recognize the character in this...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jul 1, 2020
Focus Apps & Environments for Your Writing Habits
It’s quarantine. This pandemic has relocated us all and we now find ourselves working from home. On the surface, this seems like a dream...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Jul 1, 2020
The Pandemic on Your Writing
Well, this title speaks for itself doesn’t it? The Corona virus continues to keep the world in a global lockdown and 2020 continues to...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Mar 20, 2020
Writing Tension: Tips on Adding Tension to Your Story
Do you remember in school when your English teacher returned the rough draft of your essay and were told “I wasn’t hooked?” All that time...
Karina M. Sokulski
- Feb 27, 2020
My Protagonist is a Loser, but I love Them For It
The loser protagonist is one of my current favorite trends when it comes to fiction lately. Gone are the days of protagonists with...
Karina Sokulski
- Feb 3, 2020
Chapter Titles: Are Chapter Names Mandatory?
The "mandatory" first rule of writing is that everything is as mandatory as it is optional. Writers learn the rules so they can break the...
Karina Sokulski
- Oct 28, 2019
Historical Fashion in Fiction
We all know how crucial accuracy is when it comes to any historical drama. Whether this drama comes from a book or movie, accuracy is key...
Karina Sokulski
- Oct 27, 2019
Writing With a Recorder: A Guide to Effectively Hearing Yourself Speak
Have you ever spent time at your desk talking out your latest scene in your book rather than writing it? As an auditory learner, I've...
Karina Sokulski
- Sep 20, 2019
Writing Boot Camp: Building Your Own From Home
Summer is almost over, and autumn is on its way, which means NaNoWriMo is fast approaching. For any novelist, the turn of the season...
Karina Sokulski
- Sep 2, 2019
Secrets & Lies
Not too long ago, I attended a writing class that focused on the interesting subject matter of "secrets and lies" as narrative devices....
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