Who Are You Writing For? – Video
On YouTube, JJ Barnes asks who are you writing for? She explores the differences between writing for yourself and writing for an audience and what you need to consider.
Characterisation Lessons In The US Office
On The Table Read, “The Best Book Reader Magazine in UK“, JJ Barnes writes about the writing in The US Office and what we can learn about writing our own…
How To Write A Boring Scene In An Interesting Way
Written by JJ Barnes www.jjbarnes.co.uk Naturally you want your story to be interesting. If your story is boring, you’ll lose the attention of your audience, and you won’t be satisfying…
Agatha Harkness And Writing The Perfect Villain Turn
JJ Barnes explores how Agatha Harkness in WandaVision is given the perfect villain turn, and writing techniques to recreate the effect.
How To Write A Human Villain That Is Scarier Than A Monster – Max Cady In Cape Fear
Written by JJ Barnes www.jjbarnes.co.uk Some stories need a scary character. Thrillers, mysteries and horrors all need a bad guy to torment and terrorise the Protagonist. A character who will…
Why Thanos Is The Protagonist Of Avengers: Infinity War
Written by JJ Barnes www.jjbarnes.co.uk If you have seen the Avengers films, then you’ll be familiar with chief Bad-Guy, Thanos. I will be exploring the reasons it is Thanos who…
Examples Of The Inciting Incident In Films And Books
Written by JJ Barnes www.jjbarnes.co.uk The Inciting Incident is the moment that starts your story. Before this moment, your character is just living their life. You join them to witness…
How To Write Perseverance As A Character Trait
Your characters will all have different qualities. You need to give your characters distinct personalities to ensure they are clean and interesting. If all your characters blur into one, they…
How To Follow Your Story Not Your Plot
Planning your story well can make the writing process easier. You won't wander off on side adventures or get muddled as you build to the climax because you've already decided…
How To Write A Successful Protagonist Partnership
On The Table Read, “The Best Book Reader Magazine in the UK“, author JJ Barnes describes what a Protagonist Partnership is, what they do for your story, and how to…
Top Reasons Why Your Audience Will Love A Character Who Will Risk It All
To make sure your audience is fully invested in seeing if your Protagonist gets what they want, you need to show them why it matters. In this piece, I'll explain…
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Write An Expert Protagonist
Your Protagonist is the main person in your story. You will spend the majority of the time riding on their shoulders and seeing events through their eyes. In this post…
How To Control Your Story Pace
The pace of your story is how quickly it moves from one plot point to another, and is controlled by the details between the plot points. A slower paced story…
How To Use Time-Locks To Make Your Story Exciting
One of the most important ways to write a story that is entertaining is by keeping the stakes high. If your story doesn't have high stakes, it implies what's going…
How To Write A Dystopian Story
Dystopian fiction deals with a future where the world has been changed, and not for the better. They are entertaining because they're high drama, and they're important because they can…