Tim Grahl | Writing Coach
@StoryGrid
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I help you write a novel you're proud to publish. I've written 6 books and worked with 400+ writers. Click profile link to see how we can help you.
Nashville, TN
Joined October 2015
Writers, did you watch the segment of this video (at 26:00) on the StoryGrid publishing house?
7th Annual State of Story Grid Address
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Your protagonist’s choice is only meaningful if the opposite choice is also sometimes right. Otherwise there’s nothing to decide. There’s only obedience to the author’s sermon.
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If your antagonist couldn’t write a convincing memoir defending their choices, you haven’t written an antagonist. You’ve written a strawman.
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You're not trying to make your writing realistic. You're trying to make it true and exciting.
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😢 Telling: She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. Use sensory & setting to show it instead of tell it. Make us feel it without naming the emotion. Reply with your version.
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Your writing voice does not come from trying harder to be original. It comes from having enough control over the craft that your natural instincts can finally make it onto the page intact.
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The fastest way to preach is to never show when the other side is right. Most writers don’t even realize they’re doing it.
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Theme isn’t what your story argues. Theme is the question your story refuses to answer with certainty. If you’ve resolved it, you’ve sermonized.
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Smoking a cigar while reading submissions for the first issue of our literary magazine, THE STANDARD (out in March). Nothing sharpens editorial instincts like reading dozens of short stories. Not sure what karma I banked in a previous life, but I’m grateful this is my workday.
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A single factor problem has one right answer. Your story’s core question should never be single factor. If the answer doesn’t change with context, you’re not telling a story.
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A writer is someone who writes" is such a useless, patronizing platitude. Have we reached the point with our art form of handing out participation trophies to anyone that types? You want to feel like a real writer? Do the work to get better.
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🤑 Telling: He envied his brother’s success. Use dialogue to show it instead of tell it. Make us feel it without naming the emotion. Reply with your version.
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Most writers assume clarity comes from writing more. In reality, clarity comes from knowing exactly what skill you are training and why. Repetition without intent only deepens the plateau.
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If writing were talent-driven, plateaus would be proof you lack it. Because writing is a skill, plateaus are proof you are in the middle of learning it.
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/1🚨BREAKING — AFL has filed a federal lawsuit against @BauschLomb for unlawful racial discrimination in board appointments.
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The hardest part of mastery is not effort or intelligence. It is staying engaged during long stretches where improvement is invisible but still happening.
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😔 Telling: Sarah felt lonely in the big city. Use sensory & setting to show it instead of tell it. Make us feel it without naming the emotion. Reply with your version.
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Most writers interpret a long plateau as a sign they should change projects. But if plateaus are where skills integrate, quitting might be the mistake. How do you decide when a plateau means push through vs move on?
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🔥 Telling: Tom was angry at the news. Use physical action to show it instead of tell it. Make us feel it without naming the emotion. Reply with your version.
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Introducing GitBook Agent: your AI teammate for writing, reviewing, and maintaining world-class documentation, now available in beta.
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Deliberate practice makes your writing feel worse because it puts your weaknesses under a microscope. At what point does that discomfort mean growth, and when does it mean you are training the wrong thing?
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If improvement feels invisible for months, is that proof you are stuck or proof you are doing the hardest part of learning? What evidence would actually let you tell the difference?
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