All three paths to producing emotional responses in readers are valid, but all three have pitfalls and can fail to work. To successfully use each, it’s necessary to understand why each is effective when it is.
There is one secret ingredient to crafting a novel that readers will read from beginning to end. All the other elements are important and necessary, but they play supporting roles to this one.
Some stories require greater scope, more voices, or a different context than can be delivered through the eyes of one protagonist. When you find this to be the case, consider using multiple viewpoints. However, you must think about several factors before launching into this greater undertaking.
Learn how to determine what genre you’re writing in and why it matters—plus the difference between commercial and literary.
Much of writing advice boils down to: add more conflict. But don’t forget how happy lives can involve compromise and complication as well.
For a love scene to move readers, it must embody the principle of restraint—in dialogue, in description, and in the characters’ actions.
Editor and writing coach Kristen Kieffer discusses how to get the best out of a beta-reader experience.
Larry Brooks discusses how to create a concept for your novel that will compel readers (and agents and publishers) to read more.
In today’s guest post, author Maggie Kast (@tweenworlds) discusses the role research plays in the development and evolution of a historical novel.
Attorney and author Karen A. Wyle offers insight into using new attorneys in your fiction.
In this interview, Bonnie Neubauer, author of The Write-Brain Workbook discusses her own creativity practices and goals, her favorite means of gathering writing prompts, and myths about creativity.
Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld explain how to craft a compelling scene and when it’s okay to use summary.
Editor Jessi Rita Hoffman explains how to craft professional and compelling back-cover copy for your book.
Alex Limberg discusses attaining the perfect balance between dialogue and description in your fiction.
In this interview, Josip Novakovich discusses expectations vs. reality, the role of writing instruction, trends in writing, and more.