Living Life Twice

There is a saying, ' no struggle, no story,' so the characters that present in stories need a measure of conflict and tension to hold the reader's interest. As young writers grow in confidence and experience, this is a critical understanding they must develop. It can contribute greatly to the quality of the plot lines of the stories they write. A little bit of adversity, or experiencing a problem is important for our characters. It's good for them to wrestle with a conundrum... When characters encounter a problem or have to overcomes a hurdle, it increases their appeal to the reader. They become more relatable. More human. More fallable or imperfect. So when the writer creates a conflict for a character to grapple with, the writing is enhanced. The writer can make that conflict happen within a character- doubt, fear, shyness. It can also be between characters- disagreement, feud, need for revenge, a perceived slight.  Sometimes the story may involve a series of...

POST UPDATED June 2025   A few years back I learnt the term ‘stillpoints’ upon reading a book titled   ‘ Write  Starts – Prompts, Quotes and Exercise to Jumpstart Your Creativity’ by Hal Zina Bennett.   Stillpoint is Bennett’s word for those moments in our lives when we are totally at one with the  now ; we are so  with  whatever we are doing or feeling or thinking that everything else seems to stop. It suggests we are committed to that particular moment in time. In writing, Bennett sees stillpoints as  aha!  moments created when our words strike a special chord. A stillpoint occurs when we express something clearly, authentically and beautifully. It resonates as clearly as the ringing of a fine crystal bell. Sometimes teachers refer to this as writing about small moments, where we linger to write in greater detail. The writer dwells on a moment to highlight it for the reader. The moment is expanded with deliberate intent. It...