The Indie Author’s Guide to Creating Captivating Characters

If you're struggling to create dynamic, compelling characters that jump off the page and into readers' hearts, you're not alone.

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How to Write a Book Synopsis for Your Novel

You’ve finished drafting your novel, been through a round or two of edits, sent it to beta readers for feedback, maybe even hired a professional editor to really make it sing, and now you’re getting ready to pitch it to contests, literary agents, and/or publishers. Well, friend, you’re going to need a synopsis.

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Adding Meaning to Your Fictional World

As you build your novel’s world, do you consider what certain symbols, colors, or images might mean to or about the characters and their society?

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How to Be Productive When You’re Writing from Home

When you write primarily from home, it can be difficult to prioritize your writing amid the hustle and bustle of everything else that happens there — laundry, dishes, noisy roommates, noisy spouses, high-maintenance pets, high-maintenance kiddos, and maybe even your day job. If these distractions — or any others — make it difficult for you to write from home effectively, try these five strategies to ramp up your productivity.

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How to Keep a Writer’s Notebook When You Don’t Know What to Write

This approach to keeping a writer’s notebook is WIP agnostic. You can use it if you’re working on a novel but prefer to keep it online or in some other system. And you can use it even — especially — if you don’t have a current work-in-progress, whether you’re taking a breather between projects or you’ve been in a creative rut for months.

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Seeking Beta Readers for Guided Character Development Workbook

I’m searching for beta readers for my upcoming character development workbook!

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Writing In Layers: Why It’s Okay for Your First Draft to Be Full of Holes

Next time you hit a wall in your work in progress, just hop over it. Leave yourself a little placeholder for your next pass, and keep moving forward to get that story down on the page.

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What to Do With Manuscript Feedback

You’ve sent your work off to critique partners, beta readers, or a developmental editor, and now you’re staring at a pile of feedback, wondering how, exactly, to approach it.

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Writing Prompt for World Building: Hammurabi’s Code

No matter how fantastical or how realistic, every fictional world has its own set of rules characters must follow.

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A 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.

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