Tropes are a highly debated topic in the writing world. Some love them. Some hate them. Yet tropes are a powerful tool in stories as long as they aren’t overdone to the point of being cliches. Let’s start by defining tropes and giving some examples, and then we’ll dig into Read more
The most important part of any author marketing strategy is to build an email list through a newsletter. This gives you direct access to your readers without having to rely on a third party go-between. Newsletters vary in style, content, and frequency. The good news is there really isn’t a Read more
It’s time to dig back into the nitty gritty details of character development again. In this post, I want to go into how your characters deal with confrontation. In any book, characters will clash with other characters, hopefully more than once! Let’s look at different ways your characters can approach Read more
After talking about foreshadowing last week, I can’t help but bring up its counterpart: red herrings. While red herrings are instrumental in thrillers and mysteries, they can also play a big role in other genres. Today, I want to go over the definition, purpose, and mechanics of writing them well. Read more
Has anyone ever said your story’s ending wasn’t satisfying? Or maybe that the story didn’t hold the reader’s attention throughout? If so, these symptoms could be from a lack of foreshadowing. Today I’m going to go over two types of foreshadowing (with examples) and their purposes so you can use Read more
In Medias Res is one of those phrases that writers throw around, but not many seem to actually understand. The Latin phrase means “in the midst of things.” There are many different interpretations, but I’ve traced the term back to its first usage in order to better understand it. Below Read more
A while back I did a post on using sensory details to hypnotize your readers and pull them deeper into your story. Recently, I’ve been analyzing what else makes me feel immersed in a story, and I’ve discovered another way I’m pulled into a book. I’ve tried to research the Read more
If you’ve been among writers at all, you’ve probably heard them say “kill your darlings” a time or two. It’s important to realize this is not writing advice. It’s editing advice. When you’re writing, you should follow your passion in whatever direction it takes you. However, when it’s time to Read more
We all know how important a book’s first page is for catching a reader’s attention. It’s arguably one of the most stressful parts of a book to write, but there is no real set way to ensure you do it right. In fact, the more different it is to other Read more
After a book has been through critiques and beta readers, it’s usually ready for the public. At this point, once all your edits are completed, you want to have some proofreaders. These readers are people who go through the book and look for typos, grammar issues, and formatting problems. I’d Read more