by Yen Cabag When we read a novel, we want a story that grips us, and characters that feel so real they’re almost our friends—or enemies, as the case may be. And when [...]
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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve worked on two of my series for so long that I can’t really even remember the genesis of the protagonists’ personalities. But I do remember creating their [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Transitions are one of those things that, when they work, are nearly invisible to readers. When they don’t work (they’re choppy, wordy, or completely absent), they can pull [...]
By K.B. Owen, @ kbowenwriter Have you ever thought about adding a famous historical figure to your story? After all, it’s been done successfully by the likes of Stephanie Barron, Anne Perry, Sue [...]
by Jemi Fraser, @jemifraser I am normally a fiction writer. I write romance, suspense, and flash fiction from a wide variety of genres. When our family was hit by dementia, I decided to [...]
By Mary Kole, Good Story Company, @kid_lit For the last ten years, I’ve been teaching all about characterization: what writers can do to flesh out their characters. As a former literary agent, I [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig If you’re starting a series, or even if you’re already several books in, I highly recommend a series bible. A series bible, or a document that helps you [...]
by Hank Quense, @hanque99 To a new fiction writer, there are a bewildering number of story elements that are essential to the story and incorporated into the work. To mention a few, there [...]
by Angelica Hartgers, @SelfPublishing7 Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo? As well as being a time to test your writing effort and output capabilities, it’s also a time to gain valuable insight. When [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries was the longest book to write. Over a period of 10 years I wrote a Christmas themed story for my family. They started [...]
Vicki Vass, @vickivass Whoever said reality can be stranger than fiction might be right, at least for me. Reality slips into my cozy mysteries, particularly my Antique Mystery Hunters series. My need to [...]
by Alistair Robin Gorthy , @RobGorthy Pariche took over forty years to write – it is, and is not, the same book. My novel, Pariche, took a long time to write, from the [...]
by Lucia Tang with @Reedsy Let’s start with a note of clarification. This is a post for writing child characters, not for literal children hoping to write their own books. Still, any precocious, [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Here’s a quick tip for those of you who already like to outline: save your outlines for your older books. I’m [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig This is the second post in a short series about making our lives easier as writers. One thing that I’ve tried to be more conscious of as the [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’m running a short blog series on making your life easier as a writer. I’m planning on sharing a few tips that I’ve learned over the years (often [...]
by Heather Wright, @hwrightwriter Ever since I got a pink diary with a lock and key for Christmas when I was eleven, I have tried to keep a daily journal—I really have. But, [...]
by Kristina Adams, @KristinaAuthor The voice and tone of your novel will affect who connects with your characters and what genre it fits into. It can even be the difference between someone finishing [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig When I finish writing a book, I follow a particular routine to get it into shape for publication. In case my process helps anyone else, I thought I’d [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig There are a variety of things that can slow you down as you write. I’m not sure how many writing sessions in the past have been derailed by [...]
by Zoe M. McCarthy, @ZoeMMcCarthy If you don’t backload a satisfying ending to your story, readers may not buy your next book. We’ll look at tips for a satisfying ending scene(s). When I say [...]
by Becca Puglisi, @beccapuglisi Fight or flight. I think we’ve all heard this phrase. It refers to the way each person is hard-wired to respond to real or perceived danger. Psychologists have recently [...]
by H.R. D’Costa, @scribesworld Oh, no. You just took a look at your outline or draft. It’s definitely too short. Or, in a different scenario, it’s long enough. But, unfortunately, it’s rather bland. [...]
by H.R. D’Costa, @scribesworld Ah, subplots. Once you get a handle on them, you’ll solve a huge problem. You’ll be able to get your novel to the right length—without stretching your main plot [...]
by H.R. D’Costa, @scribesworld Have you ever tried to make a pie crust from scratch? In my experience, when you press the dough into the pie pan, there’ll be areas where the dough [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig As a mystery writer, I’m especially fond of small town settings. I have written larger cities (notably the Memphis Barbeque series), but to make it work, I basically [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Hope everyone had a good Halloween. Apparently I still have scary stuff on the brain. :) The subjective nature of fear: I’m not usually a fan of being [...]
by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, @kaath09 Hello, my name is Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and I’m a recovering research-aholic. I know that research addiction is common among writers of speculative fiction (genres that begin with ”what [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin All fiction requires the reader to suspend belief in order to follow the story. You have to pretend that you are in a different location with people that you don’t [...]
By Jeffrey Eaton, author of the “Murder Becomes” series, @murderbecomes Each year, more than one million books get released by publishing houses and self-published authors. You read that right – more than one million [...]
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