Russell F. Hirsch
Descriptive Language that Sparkles
Kill your darlings! Get to the point! Plot over prose! How many times have you heard advice about simplifying your writing for middle...
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Russell F. Hirsch
- Oct 11, 2023
- 1 min
SIWC - Simply Inspiring Writers' Conference
We all know the feeling of finding our tribe. Whether we were kids discovering new friends on the playground, teens navigating a new...
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Russell F. Hirsch
- Aug 30, 2023
Imagine that! Opening and Closing Images
Great books begin with great openings. It’s our first taste of a story that will excite, move, and enthrall us. And endings are just as...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Jul 18, 2023
Exposition 101 – SPELL SWEEPER
Today, we continue to unravel that most dreaded of all fantasy writing phenomena… EXPOSITION! Oh, so messy… Writers know that getting...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Jul 31, 2017
The Impossible and Inevitable Potter
Today is Harry Potter’s 37th birthday and in homage to the birthday boy-who-lived and the continuing summer festivities marking the 20th...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Jan 22, 2017
3 Wonderful Writing Resources
Well, we’ve turned the page on 2016 and are getting into the swing of the new year, but if you’re still seeking fresh inspirations for...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Jan 8, 2017
Further Reading & Feminist Alternatives to the Hero’s Journey
Further Resources on the Hero’s Journey I hope you’ve found my summary of hero’s journey plot lines useful, but there is really no...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Jan 2, 2017
The Hero’s Journey – Resolution
Happy New Year to all! We have reached the 10th and final stage of a hero’s journey plot line and a fitting stage it is for January 1st...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Dec 20, 2016
The Hero’s Journey – Climax!
Huzzah! We have reached the Climax, the grand hurrah, the big shebang, a moment so exciting that only funny-sounding words can express...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Dec 11, 2016
The Hero’s Journey – Propelling Event
The beginning of THE END! We enter the third and final phase of a hero’s journey plot line. Act 3 Propelling Event Climax (aka Death &...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Dec 29, 2015
The Hero’s Journey – Reward
The Hero’s Journey – Reward Well that last post on the Ordeal was so frightening, I almost couldn’t go on! But after a bit of a break,...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Oct 3, 2015
The Hero’s Journey – The Approach
We really shouldn’t go in there—but we have to! We’re now well into the Middle Phase (Act 2) of a story. The characters have started to...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Aug 22, 2015
Magic Magnets
Writing a book is like building a puzzle made out of magnets. My last post, about how a character’s wishes can kick-start a story, made...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Aug 18, 2015
Wishing Well
I visited the National Leprechaun Museum—it’s a real place!—in Dublin earlier this summer. Inside, the tour guide filled us in on all...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Aug 25, 2013
The “Well that was convenient… oh, wait!” Technique
I’ve encountered a lot of storytelling and screenwriting tips that say something like: “Coincidences are great for getting your character...
Russell F. Hirsch
- Aug 19, 2013
In the beginning…
There was Storythreads–or at least now there is! This is a blog by Vancouver-based writer Russell F. Hirsch. That’s me! I’ll be posting...
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