Step Outside Your Story World

Writers often become so lost in their stories that they can’t look at them dispassionately. Remember to step back and away from your fiction so you can get a true picture of a story.

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Are your characters and plot so predictable that even you are bored? Add surprises to make stories fresh and characters engaging.

Continue reading Include Surprises in Your Stories »

Writers can’t write novels of any length, not if they want to be published traditionally. Word count is important, especially for the first-time novelist.

Continue reading How Long Should My Story Be »

Speech and thought patterns should differ from character to character. Learn tips for differentiating character voices.

Continue reading Variety in Character Voices »

Tips for writing character thought and inner dialogue. There are options for punctuation and method.

Continue reading Inner Dialogue—Writing Character Thoughts »

Writers sometimes don’t know how to begin writing a new story, but you can begin anywhere, with any story element. You can begin at any point in the story.

Continue reading What To Write First When Writing Fiction »

A story can’t be about everything and everyone; there must be focus. Direct characters and readers by pointing them where you want them to go and cut out everything that distracts or doesn’t belong.

Continue reading Focus—What’s This Story About? »

Readers bring perceptions to every novel. Put those perceptions to work for you rather than allowing them to annoy your readers.

Continue reading Reader Perception is Important »

Ramp up story conflict by repeatedly denying characters what they want or need.

Continue reading Deny, Deny, Deny »

Give your main character a tour de force moment where he reveals his true personality and all the needs and fears he’s been repressing and stuffing deep for a lifetime.

Continue reading Character Rants and Breakdowns—Let ‘em Rip »