
Which Comes First: Character or Plot?
Without insight into how your characters will react in even the most mundane of circumstances, you aren’t ready to plan or pants your plot.
Without insight into how your characters will react in even the most mundane of circumstances, you aren’t ready to plan or pants your plot.
Word doesn’t export to EPUB, but you can still produce an editable file quickly, without buying software or using a “meatgrinder” conversion.
Hybrid publishing is like hiring a contractor: You pay them to oversee the design and construction and, when it’s done, you own the result.
Mentorship programs are a popular way to gain knowledge and exposure, but as their popularity has risen the competition has gotten tougher.
Given that many of us sidestep endings in real life, it should not be surprising that writers have trouble concluding book projects.
Factual details can be great fuel for your writing, but it’s crucial to recognize when adherence to them is getting in the way of the story.
Misguided feedback, which can damage your manuscript, often arises from a common mistake: asking the right question of the wrong person.
Mom writers are wired to succeed at writing (and querying) because they can multitask like no other.
Deep third pulls readers into a character’s world view, but pronoun ambiguities and apparent point-of-view shifts push readers away. These 6 tips keep prose sharp.
Finding the right editor or critique partner is important, but so is being mentally prepared for the feedback you’ll receive.
Just as we might be conflict averse, it can be tempting to keep revising a story’s beginning instead of proceeding into the messy middle.
There’s a good chance that getting these essential elements right are among the biggest challenges you’ll face with your novel.
Like story arcs, individual scenes also have shapes. Understanding yours can help you improve the ones that are falling flat.
The key to an author’s emotional wellbeing and continued productivity is creating a support system, and knowing which part to call on when.
The idea of universal story archetypes is not a new one—but its corroboration by an A.I. brings a new dimension to the debate.
There’s only one thing that any novel must do if it’s going to succeed, and that’s arouse the reader’s curiosity.
Third-person POV dominates the current publishing market, so it’s helpful to learn to navigate its many facets.
New authors are often confused about what level of editing they need. Here’s some insight into the differences.
For one unagented author, landing a publisher was a result of preparation, transparency, and a well-developed network.
When facing decisions in your writing, it helps to identify which questions have lower stakes and which ones are preventing real progress.
There’s nothing wrong with using multiple narrators in a first-person story, but it requires some serious background work.
One editor’s technique to add narrative tension, deepen characterization, and force you to think past the original boundaries of a premise.
When you’ve completed a draft but it’s falling a bit flat, it’s time for the Story Draft: creative work done technically.
As an author, it’s good to be a big fish in a small pond—but you’ll benefit even more if your pond is connected to a larger system.
Use of a big word can be beautiful, as long as it meets two criteria: it must be the right word and the best word.
When big publishers rejected a book due to marketing concerns, one author forewent an advance to work with an indie that saw potential.
Emotional truth is the lens that allows us to see ourselves in a story, resulting in a heartfelt connection in a fictional narrative.
If your middle’s lost momentum, check to see if your plot, characters, stakes and suspense consistently propel readers along the story arc.
Publication is elusive and in many ways out of your hands, but feeling seen is something that writers can offer each other right now.
Perseverence isn’t just about finding the right agent or publisher—it’s also about refining your work into the best version of itself.
Let go of description, extra words, and clever exposition. What’s left is a tightly crafted nugget of concentrated gold—flash fiction.
Authoring a memoir, the gift of hindsight allows you to invest moments with deeper meaning than they may have had at the time.
Like pruning the extra sprouts out of a garden, sharper and tighter prose makes the details you keep stand out.
The field is saturated, so many people wanting to tell their interesting stories. You wonder: Am I a good enough writer to keep doing this?
A daily practice can only succeed if we’re 100% honest about our doubts and weaknesses, because one area of denial can scuttle the ship.
Writing can be a lonely process, and it’s easy to feel stuck. Editors and coaches can help identify the common problems—and their solutions.
Experienced editors look for a story so engrossing the reader forgets that he’s reading—story in which the author’s voice seems not to exist.
If you have a book idea or manuscript, one of your first questions is probably: How do I find a publisher? Here are the most popular, essential resources.
To gauge your manuscript’s pitch-readiness, turn a critical eye to the query letter, synopsis, and first fifty pages.
Despite the pandemic, getting that proposal off your desk allows you to shift your energy to platform—a bigger deal than most authors realize.
Writing memoir won’t fix what’s wrong. But writing what you know will give you the kind of insight that begets a better sense of control in uncertain times.
Whether grappling with believable world-building or adherence to historical accuracy, these six tips will help you navigate this daunting genre.
Why sweat the commas? To save your reader from working to decode syntax-level meaning, enabling full focus on your protagonist, your plot, and your prose.
In this Q&A, agents Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti tackle the complications of authorship and literary citizenship in the pandemic age.
If the idea of facing a blank page gives you the sudden urge to do chores, the problem might be that you’re trying to write in a way that doesn’t suit you.
Writing about the people you are closest to can be one of the most rewarding experiences a writer can have—but also the scariest.
Librarians and teachers are clamoring for more history nonfiction for younger students. Author Tim Grove offers tips on writing to this unique segment.
Unless a metaphor spontaneously suggests itself from your creative, subconscious mind, it’s probably forced and phony-sounding—and far from “literary”.
A goal 10 times bigger than what feels achievable is a psychological kick in the pants that gives you the motivation to achieve liftoff and sustain effort.
The science suggests that repetition can make a new practice reach the “second nature” part of your brain sooner, creating a habit that’s hard to break.