Reading Time: 6 minutes If you feel you’ve hit a wall in your writing, chances are you’ve been stopped somewhere in the middle of your epic tale. You’ve likely already written a few lovely introductory chapters, you have a pretty solid idea for the ending, but you just can’t get through those mysterious middle chapters filled with countless instances … Read More
9 Tips for Writing a Killer First Sentence
Reading Time: 6 minutes Ever given a book the ‘first sentence test’? No? It’s simple. Open a book and read the first sentence but not another word. Was it interesting? Did it make you want to read more? Did it sound cliché? However important you think your first sentence is, it’s even more important than that. It sets the … Read More
How to Write your Best Book yet with the 5 Step Method
Reading Time: 6 minutes If you’re looking for a writing method to kickstart your novel but want a method that is both simple to understand and easy to use, this 5 Step Method may be the process for you! This method is centered around five basic steps in the writing process, but allows you tons of room to throw … Read More
Conflict First: The Essential Steps for Creating the Perfect Antagonist
Reading Time: 7 minutes A story is incomplete without any sort of conflict, whether internal or external. As readers, we want to see the protagonists challenged in some sort of way, making them fight to achieve a goal or desire. Often, this conflict is embodied by the antagonists. Because they play such an essential role in the novel, poor … Read More
One Epic Method to Outline Your Novel in 30 Days
Reading Time: 6 minutes If you’re out there wishing there was an amazing template to guide you through the outlining process, you are in luck! Author Karen Wiesner’s “30 Day Method” is the perfect guide for those writers out there yearning for a simple to-do list to help them knock out their initial novel outline. All it takes is … Read More
7 Ways to Strengthen Drama and Narrative
Reading Time: 6 minutes Drama is tricky to master. Too much of it and readers find it funny for the wrong reasons. Too little and readers start snoring. Readers are well educated when it comes to stories. Memorable drama doesn’t come without effort from the writer. It takes forethought and direction to shape a story into a page-turner. Here’s … Read More
What Is the Optimal Word Count Publishers Are Looking For
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s early in the morning, and you have your coffee and your laptop, you’re halfway through your novel – or are you? How many words is a full-length novel? In this article, we’ll dive into word count, why it matters, and what’s the best length for your genre. It’s a Numbers Game Who thought you’d … Read More
9 Tips for Reducing Exposition in Dialogue
Reading Time: 6 minutes Exposition is a doorway that teleports readers to new worlds. Good exposition can effortlessly pull the imagination into page-turning flurries of pleasure. Lackluster exposition, however, can be a nasty distraction, snagging readers right when they’re diving in. With that in mind, here are nine tips to reduce exposition in your dialogue. Tip # 1—Only Include … Read More
How to Write a Killer Plot for Your Novel
Reading Time: 6 minutes Of course you want your novel to have a killer plot, right? But what does that even mean? A good place to start is figuring out what the whole concept of “plot” means. After that, you want to know what sorts of tips and strategies make for a compelling plot to fully engage your readers … Read More
Keeping Your Novel Whole
Reading Time: 6 minutes We’ve all experienced it. The moment when you are reading along in a great novel, and wham! It hits you like a rock between the eyes. The main character who has blonde hair and blue eyes throughout most of the book, now has striking green eyes. This is not a case of some sort of … Read More