Forget what you’ve been told: don’t start with your protagonist. Embrace your villain nature. Start with their opposition. Start with pressure. Start with the thing that makes story happen.

There are no plot-driven stories. There are no character-driven stories. There are only character-driven plots. Every decision your protagonist makes leaves a trail—that trail is your plot. This essay breaks down how to build characters whose internal needs and external goals collide, generating narrative momentum and emotional depth that readers won’t forget.

Torque is the difference between plot and story. Most writers escalate conflict. But torque bends character. This essay breaks down how it works—and how to structure it.

Most writers have never heard of sequels—not the publishing kind, but the structural kind that lives between scenes. This essay breaks down the four beats of a properly designed sequel—emotional reaction, review, anticipation, and decision—so you can stop writing stalled interiority and start building character turns that actually move the story.