The Concierge (Blog)

When you’re editing fiction, you’ll find that many developmental problems are interrelated: An insufficient conflict can be connected with unclear character motivation (or lack of motivation) to do something or achieve something (a goal). If the protagonist doesn’t have a goal, they can’t really come into conflict with another character who has a different goal….

If you’ve ever hit “send” on an edit and then immediately had self-doubt about your work, you’re not alone. Second-guessing an edit is an occupational hazard. What should you do if that happens? Worrying About an Edit You’ve Sent First, it’s common to think, “Gosh, I should have phrased that differently” or “Now that I…

Conflict drives narrative, as I don’t need to tell you. But a problem with the conflict is probably the number one issue I see in the manuscripts I edit. Yet it can be difficult to identify conflict problems. Outside of the most formulaic of approaches, we don’t have a lot of rules about how the…