Villains of the Piece
Villains in fiction have a lot in common: of course they are generally destructive, but on close examination we find a bewildering array...
What Makes Great Stories Great
Best selling author James Patterson tells us that the most common mistake writers make is not creating an outline and assures students...
The Shadow Protagonist
In the pantheon of archetypal figures who appear and re-appear regularly in fiction of all kinds, there is another kind of antagonist....
John Steed and Mrs Peel: A Dance of Archetypes
The Avengers , not to be confused with Marvel Comics’ superhero franchise, was what has become known as a ‘spy-fi’ British television...
The Missing Ingredient in Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing are much easier than is commonly believed. There is one huge component missing from most advice in this area, and...
The Magic of Marketing
In the world of dreams, a writer often imagines that the bulk of the work is done when the first draft is complete. It’s a persistent...
A Matter of Perspective
If you had a reader sitting in front of you right now, which of the following would you use to open your story with? Â 1. A nagging worry...
Your Most Valuable Commodity
What’s your most valuable commodity?  You may have thought of your house or some appliance or object within it; perhaps you thought of a...