@ADGansky Start as close to the end as possible. –Kurt Vonnegut Some time ago, I had a student approach me to ask my opinion on something they were working on. The story opened inside a hospital with the birth of a child. I liked the idea immediately, and anticipated some…

@ADGansky 4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action. –Kurt Vonnegut I love the simplicity Vonnegut uses when asserting his rules, but sometimes I wonder if we need a little extra, especially for beginning writers. At first, this rule just makes perfect sense, but if…

@ADGansky In continuing my exploration of Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules for writing fiction, this time we’ll dive into his third rule. Like the others, it’s both simple and profound. In case you missed the rest of the series here are the links: As Writers We Must Use Our Pages Wisely…

@ADGansky Last month, I began looking at Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 rules for writing fiction. I’ll continue my dissection of his rules this month and look at the second rule. This one’s pretty juicy, guys. You ready? Here it is: Give the reader at least one character he or she can…

@ADGansky Seems every writer has a set of “rules” they like to follow, or rather, they like to insist other writers must follow. I’ve always fancied myself a “rule-follower,” but when it comes to fiction, we need to be aware of what “rules” are there for our own good, and…

by Aaron Gansky @adgansky When an idea for a novel pops into our minds, the first thing we like to do is flesh out a few major plot points, which is fine. But, it can become a problem when we race our characters from one place to the next simply…