Strong story structure is the backbone that makes a story "work." It can guide our writing to enable us to create stories that resonate with readers.
How to write a novel is a legitimate question. It can be a scary and overwhelming concept. Novels go unfinished all the time, and writers everywhere get frustrated and discouraged.
A screenplay is made up of a lot of different pieces: acts, sequences, scenes, etc. Think of them as multi-sized blocks that you must stack, tear down, rearrange, and throw away until what you have before you looks something like a story. But before you can enjoy the tedious task of formation, you have to create these pieces, or blocks, from scratch. To help with this, screenwriter and frequent Tim Burton collaborator, John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride), whose blog you should be reading religiously, released a handy infographic/PDF of his popular post "How to Write a Scene" that gives
What is story conflict? Read examples from novels that show how to use different conflicts in a story to heighten tension and suspense.
There’s nothing quite like a really memorable villain to add drama to a story! Who can forget Count Fosco, or Moriarty, or Sauron? Use this worksheet to craft the perfect villain. Click Here to Download This Worksheet (PDF) If you’d like a more well-rounded villain, you might consider plotting their character arc. You can also…
Readers and editors pass judgment within the first few paragraphs. So, it's critical to learn how to start a story with a bang.
Character archetypes share core truths about people's personalities, goals, fears and weaknesses. Learn how to use them well in your own fiction.
In part two of our One Year novel series, we tackle the beginning blocks of your story: the premise! Here's how you can construct a strong yet concise premise for your novel using JotterPad.
Learn how to write an expository essay, what are its ingredients and how to structure it properly. You'll find info about topics and crafting a thesis.
TweetPin5EmailShare Creating a fictional culture is something that almost all fiction and fantasy writers will have to do at some point. Whether you need a culture for a society of... Read more »
In this blog post, read about my best teaching strategies to teach writing narrative endings. Grab all the freebies to help you teach.
Slow-burn romance is one of the most popular formats in literature and here's how you can write your own amazing story with one!
If you want to become a better writer, you have to write. But you also have to read. One of the things I love to read about is the craft of writing — adv...
Learning how to describe character appearance makes it so much easier to "show, not tell" your characters and your story.
Here's a guide to writing cozy fantasy, including some examples of the subgenre and some ideas to get you started.
A guide to the key pillars of worldbuilding, the main ingredients in any world, common pitfalls, and tips on how to succeed in your writing.
Before you start to write a novel, you should work on your outline. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to outline a novel in one day.
Are your fictional characters falling flat? There might be some crucial elements that you're missing.
A guide to the key pillars of worldbuilding, the main ingredients in any world, common pitfalls, and tips on how to succeed in your writing.
When planning your storyline, watch out for clichés as they can turn off your readers rapidly. This article looks at 5 cliché story plots you should avoid.
If you're interested in writing a character who is a psychopath in your book, then you're probably wondering how to make them realistic!
If you want to write a whole book in 30 days, it can seem daunting, but here's a step-by-step guide with tips on how ot get it done!
List of over 56 myth ideas and writing prompts to help you write your own myth. Myths can be inspired by cultures, religions, and legends.
Fed up with female villains that aren't scary or evil? I can help. Today's post is all about creating awesome female villains.
If you want to send your readers into a 3AM reading frenzy, these ideas could help!
America is not the whole world. Now I have nothing against Americans or even America as a whole but you have to admit, there are a lot of stories that make it a not so safe place for anyone who does not bleed red and blue. I am not saying all Americans are like this
Not everyone has had an easy start in life or a smooth time. Some people are survivors of abuse from family members, relationships, or people at school or work, so it's important to know how to create a character who's suffered abuse so they can also be realistic. Discover how to create characters who have suffered abuse in this post! Stand Corrected Editing offers professional book editing services in the UK to aspiring authors worldwide. Book Proofreading Services | Copy Editing Services
Romance is one of the most popular genres out there, and this guide will explain how to easily outline a whole romance novel fast!
You've built your fantasy world. How do you immerse readers in it? The key is in how you write the lore to entertain and ground the audience.
The 3 types of novella, novella lengths, scenes, pacing, plotting, fix-ups, and how to turn an unfinished novel into a novella...
Tineke Bryson, Staff Writer Some thoughts on why we writers are often intimidated by fantasy maps
