By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Admit it, you’ve seen the plot mountain to the left countless times. This is how you learned the parts of plot, yes? But, if I may be so bold, I’m not a fan of this diagram. Sure, all the parts are present, and the names are…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Some time ago, I had my Creative Writing students draw up a map of the town in which their story takes place. I had them label streets, buildings, homes, shops, etc. The response was greatly varied, from island villas to battleships, to starships, to fantasy worlds…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Flannery O’Connor is one of my favorite writers of all time. I’m a bit of a fanboy. So when she writes about writing, I pay attention. In her essays Mystery and Manners, she says, “I often ask myself what makes a story work, and what makes…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky One of the first things an amateur writer hears is the age-old adage, “Write what you know.” It’s a simple statement, suggested plainly, as if we must take it at face value, but it’s an assertion that goes far beyond what we first take it to…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky As an editor for The Citron Review, a common trend were great stories with mediocre titles. I don’t blame writers for struggling with this. It can be tricky. Here’s some quick thoughts on how to elevate the quality of your title for your fiction. [tweet_box design="default"…

by Aaron Gansky @ADGansky As we delve headlong into another holiday season (Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, New Year’s etc.…), I hope you and your family have a wonderful and restful time. But I’m also aware the holidays can be just as stressful as they are joyful. Cleaning house…