Master Fiction Writing

What makes some characters instantly compelling to one another? Sometimes it isn’t vulnerability, physical attraction, or even conflict. Sometimes it’s the moment one character looks at another and thinks: Oh. You’re...

A magic system. A monster. A machine. A prophecy. A portal. A ghost. A dystopian regime. An impossible world. Speculative fiction often begins with a brilliant what if? But the idea becomes a story when that impossible...

Romantasy is everywhere right now. Dragons, fae courts, morally grey love interests, spectacular special editions - and sales figures that have made the publishing industry sit up very straight indeed. But what’s...

Sometimes the best edit you can make to an emotional scene is to delete the sentence that explains why it was emotional. In this episode of Master Fiction Writing , I’m looking at a habit I see surprisingly often in...

What does this story want because this character is queer? That’s the question at the heart of this special episode recorded for ProWritingAid’s Write with Pride event. Too often, queer characters are present in a story...

What if the impossible is the best way to tell the truth? Speculative fiction isn’t really about dragons, spaceships, magic or dystopias. At its heart, it’s about asking one deceptively simple question: What if…? In...

In the last episode, we explored why so many argument scenes feel artificial and discovered that arguments aren’t really conversations - they’re attempts to change another human being. Now it’s time to get practical. In...

Why do so many argument scenes feel strangely lifeless, even when characters are shouting, interrupting each other, and making excellent points? Because conflict isn’t about disagreement. It’s about change. In this...

What actually makes a thriller a thriller? It isn’t just murder, spies, guns, plot twists, or car chases. In this episode of Master Fiction Writing, we take a deep dive into the thriller genre as a pressure system...

Does every protagonist really need to change by the end of a story? Not always. In this episode, we look beyond the familiar “your character must change” advice and explore positive arcs, negative arcs, steadfast...

Do your characters keep feeling sad, furious, lonely, ashamed, or devastated on the page... but the reader still isn’t feeling much? In this episode of Master Fiction Writing , we’re looking at the difference between...

In this episode of Master Fiction Writing , we untangle one of the most confusing pieces of fiction craft: third-person point of view. Because “write it in third person” sounds simple enough until you realise third...

In this episode of Master Fiction Writing , we explore one of the most quietly intimidating parts of writing fiction: creating characters when you’re afraid of getting them wrong. Inspired by a listener question, this...

Should you cut words like saw , felt , heard , realised , and remembered from your fiction? Often, yes. Always? Not even slightly. In this episode of Master Fiction Writing , Stuart breaks down why so-called filter...

Need a gentler kind of story without sacrificing plot? In this episode, I’m diving into the craft of cozy and feel-good fiction and unpacking how to write low-stakes stories that still have tension, momentum, and...