You decided to pursue a writing career, and you can find an infinite number of books and websites on the topic. Some of these are goldmines, and others seem to use a lot of words without actually conveying any meaning. Read more
A while ago I wrote about the three aspects of an engaging character, and one of those was making the person proactive. You don’t have to be in the writing world long before someone gives you the advice: give your Read more
One of the common mistakes I see new writers struggle with is recapping events in their stories. I’m not talking about recapping previous books in a series before starting the new novel (that’s a whole different topic). This is specifically Read more
One of the biggest struggles I see new writers (and sometimes experienced writers) have is using third person POV storytelling well. There are two POVs you can use in third person: Omniscient or Limited. The difference between the two is Read more
As writers, we often have too many things pulling us in too many directions, and it’s easy to let some things slide to the back. One of those things often forgotten is reading, but it’s essential to improving as an Read more
Today, I want to keep it short and simple. As writers, we need to convey a lot with just text, and part of that struggle is finding ways to convey specificity instead of vagueness. Let’s look at three easy tips Read more
Today I want to talk about a common convention writers use in their stories to build intrigue: unreliable narrators. These add a bit of mystery and often leave readers talking about the story long after it’s finished. But not every Read more
Let’s get back into the Character Under A Microscope series where I dig deep into character development. Today, I want to talk about walking. Walk is one of those bland verbs that can be replaced with something more descriptive. Everyone Read more
I’m a huge supporter of continuous learning. Obviously, right? This is, after all, one of hundreds of articles I’ve written on the author business and writing craft. But what I’ve realized recently is that learning can also be a crutch. Read more
Whether you’re a panster who makes things up as you write or a plotter who has a story outline before writing, your first draft will not be perfect. Overwriters will have too much fluff in their stories, and underwriters will Read more
This week I’m going to keep my post short yet hopefully powerful. I want to discuss what keeps readers interested in a story. Is it the villain? The setting? The romance? When we boil everything down to the very basics, Read more