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…
Last week we discussed how to give a critique of a manuscript as a writer, and this week I want to cover how to give feedback as a reader. Beta readers are people who read through the story to see how it impacts readers. It’s about the emotional response and Read more…
As writers, we inevitably meet other writers who ask if we can read their manuscript and give them some feedback. If this happens, you need to first establish if they want a critique as a fellow writer, feedback as a beta reader, or proofreading. They are three very different approaches, Read more…
Subplots are like mini stories, but they must support and enhance the main plot. That last point often gets overlooked, but it’s very important. If you have a subplot that does nothing to broaden or deepen your main plot, then it’s just fluff you need to delete. Subplots should deepen Read more…