Essays by C.R. Lang on the craft of writing: how stories work, from structure and character to the lines people speak. Each article can be read here or downloaded as a PDF.
· 6 min read
Writing Conversations That Reveal Character and Drive the Story
Great dialogue does something odd: it sounds like real speech while being nothing like it. Transcribe an actual conversation and you get false starts, filler, and long detours.
· 6 min read
Building People Readers Believe In
Plot can get a reader to turn the page, but character is why they care what happens on it. A story full of clever twists falls flat if the people inside it feel like cardboard, and a quiet story can grip us completely when its characters feel real.
· 6 min read
Understanding Narrative Structure
Every story, from a bedtime fable to a prestige drama, moves. Something is established, something goes wrong, tension climbs, something breaks, and the dust settles.