The Chopping Blog

This isn’t a hero with flaws.

In noir, the detective is hired to do a job—usually to find someone or uncover some buried truth—but the story unfolds more like a quest than a casefile.

At the heart of noir is a central tension: the world is corrupt, maybe even irredeemable—but the protagonist refuses to be.

A premise should create instant friction—between people, values, desires, timelines, or survival. This will be the lifeblood of your story.

The best subplots add layers, create obstacles, resolve internal conflicts, and enrich the main storyline. They create depth rather than merely taking up space.

Every reader is a detective, searching for answers. The craft lies in making the search irresistible.

There are tricks for making your villains scarier and more memorable—but, as with most things writing-related, there are also some pitfalls to avoid.

When you jump out of your focal character’s perspective to fill readers in on what you think we ought to know, you risk pausing the scene and sabotaging our immersion.

Few romance novels are just about the romance.

The easiest way to think about POV is as a lens that you hand the reader and say, here, you will now be viewing the world through this slightly warped piece of glass.

Whether they’re allies, enemies, mentors, or catalysts for change, minor characters serve to support or challenge the main character, highlight themes, and provide depth to the story world.

Voice isn’t just about verbal tics, slang, or quirks—it's the essence of how a character sees and interprets the world.