Given this vague advice, many writers find ourselves resorting to adjectives—lots of adjectives—to describe everything on the page in great detail.
Read moreA Little Too Convenient? Managing Coincidence in Fiction
Sometimes we just need a little help from fate to see our stories all the way through. And that’s ok. But there are more effective ways to set up those coincidences than dropping them in right at the critical moment.
Read moreWhat Is Your Book About?
It’s a surprisingly difficult question, isn’t it?
Read moreTalking Characters: How to Write Better Dialogue
We use terrible grammar in real life, we interrupt our sentences with fillers, and we often let our thoughts trail off before we get to the point. Let your characters’ dialogue be messy like that.
Read moreMaking Art in a Pandemic
Art has a very real place in COVID-19’s world, and it will have a very real place in the aftermath.
Read moreWhat A Christmas Carol Can Teach Us About How to Write a Book
More than just a fantastic holiday story, A Christmas Carol actually provides great examples for authors of some of the most common advice we hear about writing.
Read moreReview: Blanca & Roja
In Blanca & Roja, Anna-Marie McLemore blends familiar fairytales The Swan Princess and Snow White and Rose Red into a rich, luxurious story of friendship, love and self-acceptance that is told with her signature style of magical realism.
Read moreReview: A Heart in a Body in the World
Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, Deb Caletti’s A Heart in a Body in the World reads like a battle cry for young women in the #MeToo era.
Read more10 Essential Elements of Gothic Literature
As we head into fall, there’s no better time to visit the Gothic genre.
Read moreThe Things We Carry: The Weight of Objects in Fiction
Are there any items in your fictional world that are so charged, so laden with meaning, that they’re impacting the environment and/or the characters’ behavior?
Read more