Tiffany Yates MartinTiffany Yates Martin

Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers. She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial and author of the bestseller Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing. She is a regular contributor to writers’ outlets like Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Unboxed, and a frequent presenter and keynote speaker for writers’ organizations around the country. Under her pen name, Phoebe Fox, she is the author of six novels. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.
Why Your Flashbacks Aren’t Working
Black and white photo of a rainy parking lot, with a single white car in the background. In the foreground is a discarded photo of that same car at some time in the past, when it was decorated with a sign reading 'JUST MARRIED.'
Like a genie in a bottle, flashbacks can be wonderful and terrible things. If not carefully controlled, flashbacks can get ...
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/ Guest Post, Novel Craft
How Do You Know What Backstory to Include?
Image: a muralist has painted his image's background in great detail, while the main subject—a portrait which spans from top to bottom—remains only sketched in.
Backstory risks feeling clumsy or intrusive if it’s not directly relevant to the main, “real-time” story, and can stall forward ...
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/ Fiction Craft, Guest Post
When—and Why—Reveals Don’t Work
Image: a woman draped in a shawl and sitting in a chair yawns while trying to read a book.
It’s an author’s job to create questions that readers crave the answers to, but questions posed with unclear stakes or ...
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/ Guest Post, Novel Craft
The Über Skill for Writers
Image: black and white photo of a man dressed as a detective, wearing a trench coat and deerstalker hat, smoking a pipe, and looking at the viewer through a magnifying glass.
By paying attention to how you are impacted by story, you can learn to trace those effects back to the ...
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/ Fiction Craft, Guest Post
The Flashback: A Greatly Misunderstood Storytelling Device
Image: a wooden sign is erected amid tall grasses in a wilderness area. On the sign are the words "Future" accompanied by an arrow pointing to the right, and "Past" accompanied by an arrow pointing to the left.
Flashback can be a potent tool for presenting essential backstory, as long as you apply it without interrupting the story’s ...
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/ Fiction Craft, Guest Post
Does Your Multiple Storyline Novel Work? Questions to Ask Yourself
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Whether you’re a plotter, a pantser, or something in between, a little planning can help prepare you for the challenges ...
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/ Guest Post, Novel Craft
Is Deep Third an Actual POV?
Image: a young woman's face is viewed through two glasses of water, so that the image is fractured into multiple angles.
Used well, deep third can be one of the most intimate, engaging, revealing ways for readers to viscerally share your ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Create Effective Dialogue by Asking the Right Questions
Image: from a worm's eye view, a couple wearing dark hoodies are seen sitting at the edge of a brick sea wall, turned to face the open ocean, under a heavily-clouded sky at early evening.
Asking yourself the right questions about why, when, how, and how much your characters speak will help you craft more ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
How Do You Move Beyond the Three-Act Structure?
Image: a triangular white flag emblazoned with the word "Explore" is attached to a stick and lying on a dark wooden floor.
A genre author seeks advice on letting stories unspool more organically while also honoring the reliability of the three act ...
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/ Ask the Editor
Picking a Point of View for Your Story
Close-up photo of a fly, with sharp focus on the eyes.
Consider the benefits and limitations of each POV, along with the feel each might lend to your story and how ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
How to Pursue a Career in Editing: Advice for College Students
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Although writing and editing are very different skill sets, much of what you can do to master one will serve ...
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/ Ask the Editor
Backstory Is Essential to Story—Except When It’s Not
Image: the word "Danger!" spelled out in a large pile of salt spilled on a tabletop.
Focus on the main story’s forward momentum, and use backstory as the seasoning that makes the stew ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Is an Editor Worth the Money?
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If you have reason to suspect your story is not quite “there” yet, a professional edit may be what’s needed ...
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/ Ask the Editor
What If You’re New to Writing and Don’t Know How to Fix Things?
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Like writing, editing and revision are skills that take time to learn, and they develop only with practice ...
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/ Ask the Editor
Why Prologues Get a Bad Rap
Image: the doorway of a decrepit building is piled with bricks, preventing entrance. Above the doorway is a large sign saying "Welcome."
A prologue can open the door to your story and entice the reader in, or throw up a barrier that ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Why Plots Fail
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An elaborately structured plot, without clearly-defined character goals and motivations, is like mapping a trip and calling it a vacation ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
How Suspense and Tension Work Together to Increase Story Impact
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Skillful authors weave suspense and tension to draw readers through stories on a taut thread of unanswered questions and constant ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Improve Your Own Storytelling by Analyzing Other People’s
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One of the best ways an author can learn their own storytelling craft lies in what we already avidly do: ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Weaving Flashbacks Seamlessly into Story
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Flashback is a powerful tool for weaving in important backstory—but as with any power tool, using it well requires knowledge ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
When—and Whether—to Hire a Developmental Editor
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A developmental editor is like any tool in your toolbox. Knowing whether and when to use one will help you ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
The Secret to a Tight, Propulsive Plot: The Want, The Action, The Shift
The Secret to a Tight, Propulsive Plot: The Want, The Action, The Shift
Framing the overall story, as well as each scene within it, through these key elements will help create a consistently ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Deepen Characterization by Mining Your Own Reactions
Image: collaged photos of a young man making a range of expressive faces.
Paying attention to your own visceral reactions and thoughts can help you create richly developed characters who leap off the ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Understanding Third-Person Point of View: Omniscient, Limited and Deep
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Third-person POV dominates the current publishing market, so it’s helpful to learn to navigate its many facets ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
4 Story Weaknesses That Lead to a Sagging Middle
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If your middle’s lost momentum, check to see if your plot, characters, stakes and suspense consistently propel readers along the ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Who Makes It Happen? Giving Your Characters Agency
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Your protagonist must directly influence or engineer her own destiny. If she doesn’t, she isn’t the hero; she’s a passenger ...
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/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing