Author: Ozzy

  • Don’t Expose Your Ideas Too Early

    by

    in

    Ideas are fragile when they’re new—small, tender things just starting to put down roots. Pull them out into the light too soon, and they stop growing.

  • Involve (all) the Senses

    Your readers live in their bodies, just like your characters do. If you want your story to feel real, you need to give us more than just what we can see. The creak of floorboards. The prickle of sweat. The tang of salt in the air. The feel of fabric under fingertips. The stinging burn…

  • The Confidence Game

    There’s a tricky balance we all face as writers: the tension between self-belief and the desire for validation. At its best, writing is an act of confidence—saying, this matters enough to write down. That confidence is fragile and can crack early, especially if you share too soon or ask for opinions before you’ve even figured…

  • How Do I…

    I’ve seen a lot of “How do I…” questions lately. “How do I make this feel more emotional?” “How do I write a compelling villain?” “How do I make my prose less clunky?” “How do I fix the pacing in my middle chapters?” And the truth is—none of these have a one-line answer. Not really.…

  • Inversion

    Empathy is about stepping into someone else’s shoes. Inversion is about reversing the whole damn frame. Not just, “What is this character feeling?” But: “What if they’re right, and my protagonist is wrong?” “What if this story goes the other way?” It’s a question I ask myself all the time. Inversion is one of the sharpest…

  • Empathy

    As a writer, you have to live a thousand lives that aren’t your own.

  • Your Idea Isn’t Worth Anything (Until You Tell the Story)

    This topic arises frequently in writing communities, especially among those just starting out. “I have this amazing idea. Do you think it’s good?” “Would you read a story where…?” “Is this too cliché?” And, my personal favourite: “Has this been done before?” (Answer: Probably. But not like you’d do it) Here’s the truth: Your idea…

  • Write It Down… So It Can Grow

    Ideas are funny things. They feel big when they first arrive—loud, full of potential, impossible to ignore. But if you don’t give them somewhere to go, they start to shrink. They blur at the edges. Fade under the weight of daily life. Or worse, they grow too loud in your mind—too perfect to risk ruining by writing…

  • Writing Hardware: The Tech That Fits Your Flow

    The tech you use should match how you write—not how someone else says you should write. You do you boo.

  • Writing Tools: Software That Works for You

    Does your software stack help or hinder? Is there something better out there that will make you a better writer?