Most writing advice on first drafts goes something like this: start writing and don't look back, get all your ideas out, don't worry about spelling, punctuation, even plot consistency. Just get the first draft done so you can then go back and revise it. Don't expect your first draft to be any good... Continue...

Understanding story structure has eluded me most of my writing life. Or perhaps I should say I have been on a life-long quest to understand the fundamentals of what makes for a good story and why. I now understand the most fundamental quality of story and I call it story force. If you write stories, then you need to know this. Continue...