Unless you're a super-organized planner who stuck to your writing outline religiously, there will come a point during editing when you'll re-read a scene and have to make sure it includes everything you wanted. This is my dilemma as I work on my current work in progress. I wrote the draft back in 2017, so …
When you're the writer of a manuscript, everything about the story makes sense to you. And why wouldn't it? You're the one who has spent hours writing your way through countless drafts. The trouble with being the person who's worked on the story so intensely means it can be hard for you to notice when …
Continue reading Unintentional Story Issues, And How To Fix Them
If you've entrenched yourself in the writing world, you've no doubt heard what doesn't make for a good book opening. These tips range from ditching prologues to the ultimate pressure inducing advice: the opening sentence/paragraph/page must automatically engage the reader or they won't read on. While this advice is enough to make you consider taking …
You might think confusing characters only happen in movies. It's easy to get characters visually mixed up when the actors/actresses have the same good looks and do-good temperament. But it happens on the page too. And why wouldn't it? The characters come from the mind of one person, the voice of one writer, and that …
Ah, deep POV. It's something I'd never heard of when I started writing and was something I wasn't even doing a year ago. Since learning this wonderful writing trick (which you can read about here), I've added a new depth to my writing and upgraded to being a serious writer. As with any new skill …
Continue reading How To Tell If Your Writing Has Slipped Out Of Deep POV
Creating a character isn’t all physical description and heartbreaking backstory. Well, a lot of it is, but it’s not just that. You need to round out that tall, dark-haired beautiful orphan with some emotional depth. The kind that will keep your readers turning the page and recommending your stories. They’ll do this because they’re invested …
Continue reading Five Ways To Give Your Characters Emotional Depth
Just as no two writers will write an idea the same way, drafting is a unique process as well. Some authors may draft their MS in as little as five passes, others (raises hand) might have 20 odd drafts under their belt for certain works in progress. When drafting is such a mammoth task, it's …
Continue reading 6 Draft Checklist Ideas (And Why You Should Create Your Own)
If the thought of writing a novel freaks you out, first, know you're not alone. Second, this seemingly huge task is not as overwhelming as you think it is. Sure, you have to come up with characters, plot lines, unique ideas, master show, don't tell, and learn how to use commas properly. And it could take …
One key to writing a book that connects with readers is including characters they care about. Or hate. It can be characters they hate. Just as long as the readers want to follow from the first page to the last. Follow-worthy characters come from awesome descriptions, dialogue, goals you want to see them achieve, odds …
