There’s no shortcut to writing a great story. However, there are guidelines that can help get you started if you’ve never done it before. This chart c
Need your character to do something, but not sure what would motivate them to do it? This character motivation worksheet can help!
When trying to grow your freelance writing business on the side, the weight of landing clients is enormous. You simply don’t have the time to devote 8 hours a day to prospecting and networking to find some great online content writing jobs. So, you need to cram 8 hours worth of business tasks into 2 […]
A plot structure might be the key to finishing your novel! Here'a a printable cheatsheet to the 7-Point Structure, Save the Cat, The Writer's Journey, The One Page Novel...
Writing Worksheet – Rites & Rituals (PDF) I’ve talked of my love of Joseph Campbell before, and I would be remiss if I didn’t at least quote him at this apposite juncture: No tribal rite has yet been recorded which attempts to keep winter from descending; on the contrary: the rites all prepare the community…
What is flash fiction, and why should you write it? I’ll tell you. But first, can I ask a question? Are you reading this blog post on your phone? I’d bet money your answer is yes . Most of us spend more time pointing our noses at screens than buried in books or magazines. Rather than fight this,
Hello, writer, and welcome back to The Novel Series, a multi-part blog post series about writing novels and other forms of fiction. I’ll be posting at least one, if not two, blogs from this series every month until it’s complete. Catch up and read the previous posts: Part I: How Long Should Your Manuscript Be?…
Have you ever done a Rorschach test? It’s a psychological test that makes use of a person’s interpretation of inkblots so a psychologist can examine their personality and emotional functioning. Our brains are so desperate to make sense of everything that they will tell us that they see a picture in a spot of ink. […]
Learning how to create tension in writing is important whatever your genre. Read more on writing a page-turning novel.
Whether we plot or pants (or do something in between), the drafting stage is where we work to put core ideas onto the page. It’s a lot of fun because creativity is cranked up and our imaginations are set loose! After all, we know we’ll be back to improve everything later. Of course, it’s this […]
Are you writing a fiction novel? Browse the writing tips in the blog post archives to learn how to write a book! #amwriting #writingtips #writingcommunity
If you're planning to tackle NaNoWriMo, it's important to ask how to outline your novel. I've got three methods to try.
Back again with the writing prompts. (I’ll never stop. There may not be any for a while, but eventually, they’ll come back when you least expect it.) On my quest to come up with good s…
Learning how to edit? Before sharing your writing with the world, apply these editing tips. We show you exactly how to make edits to your own work, using an editing checklist.
1. Make them brutal. 2. Make them love power over all else. 3. Make them think that they are in the right about their evil choices. 4. They should be completely irrational.
Freebie Friday! Enjoy a FREE non-fiction text structure reference sheet for your classroom! Students can use this resource to identify features of various non-fiction texts while supporting their learning of content.Visit my store to download this freebie, or click on the picture below! (Click on the picture above for a direct link to the freebie!) Interested in collecting more resources for integrating non-fiction text structures? Check out my blog post here! It shares many lesson ideas and additional freebies!
Character chemistry is the secret "it" factor of fiction. Here are five tips to get you started injecting it into your own story!
Professional custom online essay helper on any paper. We offer exquisite quality and tips from experienced essay writers and editors!
These 76 creative writing prompts will give you the inspiration you need to write what you want to write.
Can you really write 50,000 words in 30 days? Sure! Here are 10 steps to take to help you get ready for #NaNoWriMo this year... Free checklist included!
10 Toxic Bad Relationship Habits for Fictional Characters. Use these toxic bad relationship habits to write better fictional characters that readers can
Having devoted a large portion of my life to tennis, I am quite familiar with the idea of creating a ritual before a match or a serve to help me get into the mindset for the game, and as I began to become more dedicated to writing, I carried that practice over with me. One of the most difficult part
Suspenseful writing techniques are shown in this short video. Use them to make your writing more suspenseful.
Jami Gold's Writing Worksheets: Help for all writers, from newbies to experts and from plotters to pantsers.
An excellent article explaining the 12 deadly truth on writing online to earn money. A must read for all starters and even experience writes as well.
5 Tricks How to Hide Your Villain Right Before Their Eyes. Consider the many ways a writer can hide their villain before their readers' eyes. Hide your villain
Discover the five most important secrets of good storytelling--which also happen to be the five most common problems in modern books and movies.
Yes! You landed your first freelance writing job and turned in the best writing you can muster to your first client. You can finally breathe. Finally relax. And congratulate yourself on this big achievement. But, oh snap! Three days later you get an email from your freelance writing client saying that they rejected your writing […]
The Snowflake Method is an approach to writing developed by writer Randy Ingermanson and is composed of ten steps. Here's a quick tutorial + a fun freebie!
It's time to stop settling for low pay and content mills. This post will show you how to get amazing freelance writing clients as a beginner!
How can you write good dialogue in fiction? How can you make your dialogue sound realistic? Here are 10 common dialogue mistakes and how to fix them.
Literary fiction writers tend to avoid plot. We’re trained to be plot snobs, focused only on character development and description and point-of-view amongst other things. But your story can’t be plotless. Plot is tension, plot is drama, plot IS story. So we must learn to fuse plot and character seam
To avoid flat dialogue scenes, learn to triangulate the characters' interaction with a lower-order goal.
I’m Lewis Jorstad, a developmental editor and author who teaches up-and-coming writers the skills they need to craft riveting novels.
