Story Garden is for people who enjoy making stories, whether they are starting with a scrap of dialogue, returning to a long-paused draft, or simply curious about how fiction works. We explore storytelling as a craft of choices: what to show, what to hold back, and what might happen next.
A garden of story choices
Our subjects include characters, settings, plot, voice, and revision. A story can begin with a person who wants something, a place that holds a secret, or a moment that will not leave the imagination alone. We look for useful ways to follow those beginnings without pretending there is one formula for every writer.
Ideas to take to the page
Articles offer prompts, examples, questions, and ways to approach the work. Some may help you begin; others may give you a fresh angle on a draft already in progress. Use what suits the story you are making and leave the rest for another day.
Room for different stories
Storytelling takes many forms and draws on many lives. We aim to discuss craft with curiosity and care, without treating one style, genre, or writing routine as the measure of all the others.