5 Things “The Crucible” Can Teach Us About Good Writing

It’s that time of year again!  The daily temperatures are falling, the leaves are turning various shades of orange and various chintzy costumes are for sale at Wal-Mart. No, I’m not describing Halloween.  I’m describing the time of year that I usually teach Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, that time honored play about the Salem witch trials

Juxtaposition: Creating a Foil for Your Heroes

Juxtaposition is defined as an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.  Juxtaposed characters are not seen very much in short fiction, but if you are writing a novel you will want to strategically design characters who are foils for your heroes to shine a light on the traits of those heroes. One of the best examples of the use of this