Image: a woman looking like a fairy-tale princess, wearing an ornately-decorated white satin dress and with a copious head of curly white hair, reclines on a patch of flowers in a field.

3 Elements That Make Historical Romance Successful

If you approach a book with a writer’s eye, even the most pleasurable, light reading can teach you something that can enrich your own storytelling craft.
Image: black and white photo of two feminine mannequins in the window of a clothing store. One stares straight ahead with her arms at her sides, while the other's arm is outstretched and head is turned as if to make a connection with her companion.

Emotional Intimacy Between Characters Isn’t Just for Romance Novels

No matter what you’re writing, emotional intimacy between characters is important to creating authentic relationships on the page.
Image: a man with long, curly, red hair and wearing colorful medieval garb stands in a forest and brandishes a sword at the viewer.

Tropes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Just as a painter uses brushes and colors to blend and create, writers can experiment with tropes to make stories both familiar and refreshing.
Image: a sleeping black and white puppy is cradled in the arm of a seated woman.

Scene, Summary, Postcard: 3 Types of Scenes in Commercial, Upmarket, and Literary Fiction

Understanding how to use them, and how to balance different types of scenes within a single narrative, is crucial for becoming a skilled storyteller.
Image: a woman draped in a shawl and sitting in a chair yawns while trying to read a book.

When—and Why—Reveals Don’t Work

It’s an author’s job to create questions that readers crave the answers to, but questions posed with unclear stakes or context can backfire.
Image: close-up photo of a nylon safety net against a blue background.

Structure: The Safety Net for Your Memoir

The more faith you have in your story’s structure, the more you’ll become the safety net your reader is hoping for.
Image: three uninflated party balloons lie on a black background.

3 Ways to Experiment with Memoir Structure to Improve Your Narrative Arc

Playing around with different storytelling forms during manuscript revision can lessen anxiety and reveal new possibilities.
Image: a stack of seven unlabeled cassette tapes.

What Taylor Swift’s Vault Tracks Can Teach You About Not Killing Your Darlings

If a scene, storyline, character, or image doesn’t quite belong in your story, save it for later use—as Taylor Swift does with song ideas.
Image: a man wearing a clean, sky-blue button-down shirt sits at a work surface with a paint brush in one hand and a mechanical pencil in the other. Messy globs of paint from nearby jars cover the work surface, his hands and forearms, and his utensils.

Writing Rules That Beg to Be Broken

Aspiring writers are inundated with rules to follow—but writing is creative, so don’t look to prescriptions or those who preach them.
Image: an illustration of a young woman's face in profile, in which the outline of her face is clear but the rest of her head and neck dissipates into a swirling cloud against a black background.

Demystifying Miscreant Memories and Crafting a More Authentic Narrative

Memoirists owe it to readers to tell them the truth. But what do you do when the truth isn’t black and white?
Image: an open laptop with a blank white screen sits on a table with notepads, a mobile phone and potted succulents with a view of a sunlit and greenery-filled patio in the background.

The First Rule of Writing Is Writer’s Block Does Not Exist

Writer’s block is an excuse, based on fear, that gives us permission to quit as soon as writing gets hard.
Image: in an office, a detective sits staring at a bulletin board on which are arranged the salient photos, maps, and facts of a crime, trying to piece together the solution.

Designing Thriller and Mystery Twists That Work

Twists feel “twisty” because the author has carefully engineered the story to mislead readers via the protagonist’s journey and assumptions.
Image: a young man wearing jeans and a t-shirt reclines on the grass, facing the sky, near the water's edge a cloudless day.

Beyond BICHOK: How, When and Why Getting Your Butt Out of the Chair Can Make You a Better Writer

While you can’t publish a book without sitting down to write, there are many times when we can gain insight by looking away from our work.
Image: a woman reaches up to grab a book from a set of shelves on which hundreds of books in solid-colored wrappers are arranged in rainbow stripes.

What Is LGBTQ+ Fiction—And Does a Writer Have to Be Queer to Write It?

While there are no fixed conventions writers need to adhere to, there is nonetheless much to think about and be aware of.
Image: a colorful pile of pharmaceutical pills

How to Write Realistically About Drug Use in Your Novel

A new book, The Grim Reader, helps authors understand how to write convincingly about drugs and their use.
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.

The Über Skill for Writers

By paying attention to how you are impacted by story, you can learn to trace those effects back to the techniques that elicited them.
Image: sitting cross-legged on a leather sofa in front of many packed book shelves, a teenage girl reads a book.

4 Things Every YA Writer Should Know About Teens

A good novel has everything teen brains are primed to crave—excitement, emotion, and escape.
Image: a man's face is shrouded in darkness except for his left eye which is illuminated by a vertical sliver of light.

Add a Luke Skywalker Moment: Give Your Main Character a Bitter Choice

For a memorable story, give your main character a strong motive, a flaw, and a series of escalating decisions leading to an impossible choice.
Image: In a dark bedroom, a woman sits upright in bed and reaches for a journal resting on a side table.

Journals and Dreams: The Unsung Heroes of Literature

Like a pot of broth simmering on the stove, the contents of our journals nourish us and provide the basis for countless delicious creations.
Image: against a dramatic backdrop of mountains, twisting roads, and a cloudless deep blue sky, a bright orange road sign reads "Slow Now".

What Sleeping With Jane Eyre Taught Me About Pacing

Going too fast is one of the biggest mistakes storytellers make. When you arrive at a moment readers have been waiting for, slow things down.
Image: close-up photo of a single, slender, delicate mushroom growing from a mossy forest floor.

One Well-Chosen Detail: Write Juicy Descriptions Without Overwhelming Your Reader

It takes practice to write immersive descriptions that draw readers in, without going overboard and risking boredom or loss of attention.
Image: a smiling man with long dark hair and a thick dark beard and wearing a white garment, as if meant to represent a Christ-like figure, covers his eyes with his hand.

Embrace Your True Subject: A Writer’s Case Study in Running from (and Returning to) Herself

An author considers how we often try to turn ourselves into other kinds of writers instead of following our internal compass.
Image: a couple sits on the sofa, eating popcorn and watching television with rapt attention.

How High Stakes Keep Readers (and Viewers) Invested

Shonda Rhimes’s Netflix series is a master class in amping up stakes and keeping viewers invested in the characters’ outcomes.
Image: three hardcover books, stacked together and viewed from their top edges, are sandwiched between a pair of over-the-ear headphones.

How to Read (and Retain) Research Material in Less than Half of Your Usual Time

Too many books and not enough time? One author learns that speed-reading print and audiobook versions simultaneously can enhance retention.
Image: a woman in a mermaid costume floats underwater next to sculptural ruins.

First-Page Critique: How to Elegantly Reveal Character Motivations

Evocative scene-setting can be wonderful, but be careful of letting it get in the way of your story’s action and momentum.
Image: a flame burns atop a small, brain-shaped candle.

How to Use Brain Waves to Enhance Your Writing Practice

Make the most of your writing practice by understanding which brain waves are active during the day and best support specific writing tasks.
Image: an abstract painting filled with large brushstrokes of red, orange, yellow, teal, blue, and purple.

Why I Prefer to Read Fiction without Lessons or Messages

As with abstract painting, fiction can find worth in technique rather than specific meaning—emphasizing not the What, but the How.
Image: The Golden Bridge near Da Nang, Vietnam. Amid heavy fog, an enormous sculpted hand supports the walkway which curves and disappears into the distance.

What It Means to Make Your Story Relatable

When author and readers have little in common, what makes writing relatable? A teacher examines Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird to find out.
Image: Miniature hand-painted figures of a woman and man, both wearing hiking gear, are set on a stark white background.

How Connected Settings Give Your Fiction Emotional Depth

To create unforgettable scenes, purposefully choose settings that trigger character emotions, intensify conflicts, or evoke specific moods.
Image: a small statuette of a "hear no evil" cherub holding its hands over its ears.

How Can I Set Aside the Cacophony of Writing Advice and Just Write?

Writing advice is everywhere—newsletters, podcasts, workshops—and it can leave you feeling anxious and unproductive. Here's what to do.
Image: a broad scar is visible on the surface of a tree.

How to Create Character Mannerisms from Backstory Wounds

To be vivid on the page, each character you write should display life-long emotional responses to wounds that occurred in their past.
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.

The Flashback: A Greatly Misunderstood Storytelling Device

Flashback can be a potent tool for presenting essential backstory, as long as you apply it without interrupting the story’s forward momentum.
Image: a woman holds her phone in front of her face while speaking into it.

Get Started With Dictation: Choosing the Best Techniques and Tools for You

One author shares what she’s learned about using voice dictation to write in any setting: on a walk, washing the dishes, even lying in bed.
Image: a gray-haired woman sits typing at a laptop computer.

Is It Worthwhile to Write My Memoir, Especially If a Publishing Deal Is Unlikely?

An experienced author of advanced age considers the value of tackling a memoir with resonant themes but a challenging road to publication.
Image: an underwater photo of a diver heading into the depths.

3 Ways to Use Theme to Deepen Your Story

Identifying and bolstering your story’s theme can develop a layered narrative that resonates with readers on conscious and subconscious levels.
Image: A blue door is set into a yellow wall. Through that open door can be seen another blue door in another yellow wall, and on and on, into infinity.

How Can You Tell If You’re Starting Your Story in the Right Place?

To make readers care, you generally need to get three things on your novel’s opening pages before the inciting incident arrives.
Image: a clenched hand with two googly eyed applied, to resemble a face.

Finding the Funny: 8 Tips on Writing Humor

This author didn’t think of herself as a humor writer until her readers told her otherwise, so she dug into what makes her work funny.
Image: a woman sits at a laptop computer with her hands in the air and a look of confused frustration on her face.

The Hallmarks of a Bad Argument

Many people argue using bad-faith tactics. Much more difficult is to engage the best ideas we disagree with, and explain our opposition clearly.
Image: a person at a weaving loom loaded with bright yellow thread pulls the threads apart to reveal that underneath is a finished version of the complex, multi-colored piece they're making, used for reference.

Does Your Multiple Storyline Novel Work? Questions to Ask Yourself

Whether you’re a plotter, a pantser, or something in between, a little planning can help prepare you for the challenges of writing multiples.
Image: a reader's hands hold a softcover book open. Some of the pages are flagged with sticky notes, including one on which the word "important" has been handwritten.

How to Read to Elevate Your Writing Practice

Reading like a writer, focusing on the craft and mechanics on the page, will offer insight to how beautiful and meaningful novels are made.
Image: A book without words in it stands open on a gray background. The page on the right contains a series of irregular creases causing the paper to have a warped profile at its edge. A stark light shining against it from the right side throws a shadow onto the left page of the book, where the creased edge reveals itself to be the profile of a human face.

Explore the Fictional Character That You Present to Readers

Readers of your work create their own idea of you that is, in a sense, a fictional character. Explore voice by leaning into that fiction.
Image: a triple-exposed black and white photograph of a woman's face, turned to left, right, and center.

Mining Your Memories: 3 Forms of Memory Every Memoirist Must Know

Understanding how your memories work, and what to do with the less reliable ones, will help you with the meaning-making process.
Image: a man wearing a conical paper party hat sits alone at home and considers eating a piece of cake, to illustrate the silver lining on a self-pity party.

How to Deal With Rejection: Celebrate!

One author believes that celebrating your rejections is part of how you take your power back.
Image: on a white wall are mounted dozens of minimalist modern circular clocks which have minute and second hands all pointed in different directions, but no numbers.

Decide Where You’re Standing in Time as You Write Your Memoir

Memoirists must make conscious decisions about time—the time frame of the story and where in time you are standing while telling your tale.
Image: a gray ball of yarn sits on a white background.

What Character Arc Isn’t

Character arc isn’t created from a patchwork of different issues. It’s one clear thread that runs the whole length of your novel.
Image: a point-of-view photo of a man's hand pushing its way through tall green grasses, beyond which a body of water is barely visible.

The Peril and Promise of Writing in First-Person POV

Writing a compelling first-person novel requires creative ingenuity, extraordinary empathy, and a boatload of courage.
Image: a wooden chair sits alone on a brightly-lit theater stage.

Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)

If you’re struggling to shape life experiences into a story, consider key points that illustrate a common thread, as if preparing a TED Talk.
Image: against a blue sky, a woman stands with her head completely engulfed by a small cloud.

It Might Be Time for a Reality Check on Your Writing Goals

Goal-setting is much like the Alcoholic’s Prayer: accept what’s beyond our control, assess what we’re able to change, and know the difference.
Image: a woman is standing in a field of wildflowers. She holds a round mirror in front of her so that, where we would otherwise see her head, we see only the reflection of wildflowers.

The Forgotten Element of Story: The Author

Embracing the You in your story can feel frightening, but it’s the best way to craft a novel that is truly unforgettable.
Image: a woman wearing blue overalls and a white t-shirt holds a small wooden picture frame to the viewer. The frame contains only empty white space where the picture should be.

Gray Space: Making Room for the Reader

When we let the reader fill in our intentionally left blanks, or “gray space”, we invite them inside our imaginary worlds.