How to Structure a Killer Novel Ending
Here are the principles of story structure that you need to apply to your writing in order to get the ending of your fiction right. Brian Klems There are more than a few writers and teachers out there, many of them orders of magnitude more famous than I am (not hard to do), who don’t …
How to Map Out Your Hero’s Adventure in Your Manuscript
BY ELIZABETH SIMS How do the most successful authors of our time construct their stories? The Hero’s Adventure. So what is the Hero’s Adventure? You know it already, and you may even have elements of it in the story you’re working on. But I suspect you haven’t yet methodically and thoroughly appropriated it for yourself. …
350 Character Traits
Amanda Patterson Use these lists of 350 character traits to help you select the positive and negative traits you need for the characters in your stories. What Is A Character Trait? A trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person. It can be a genetically determined characteristic. Traits are formed …
10 Ways to Start Your Story Better
The entire course of a story or novel, like an avalanche, is largely defined within its first seconds. Jacob Appel offers 10 ways to launch yours in the right direction. Jacob M. Appel The sentence you are currently reading has the potential to brand itself indelibly upon our cultural consciousness and to alter the course …
Just Say No
An August 1989 Writer’s Digest articles encourages writers to say no to their characters—in other words, create compelling conflicts in their stories. Writers Digest Staff Writer’s Digest, August 1989 Say no to your fiction characters—put obstacles in their paths—or else editors and readers alike will say no to your stories. Hard-working Ted had a crush …
How to Hook a Literary Agent
Finding a literary agent is one thing, but the hard part is gaining representation. In this post, we share how to hook a literary agent to represent writing and get published by looking at the query letter, synopsis, book proposal, and sample pages. Robert Lee Brewer Finding a literary agent is one thing, but the …
How to Develop High-Concept Book Ideas
Whether discussing movies or books, most agents and editors are eager to find projects that are high concept. In this post, learn how to develop high-concept book ideas to find more success with your writing. Robert Lee Brewer Whether discussing movies or books, most agents and editors are eager to find projects that are high …
Develop a Fascinating Premise for Your Mystery Novel
Where do ideas for the best mystery novels come from? Use targeted questions to craft a premise that will hook your readers from the first page. Bestselling author Hallie Ephron shares how to develop a fascinating premise for your mystery novel. Hallie Ephron I used to think that I couldn’t write a mystery novel because I’m …
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