For Writers
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| © Farnaz Nadim |
If You've Ever Wanted to Write a Book, Here's How
Word Count & Chapter Length,
Word Count Dracula
Rules of the Road: Chapter Length, and Chapter Length Consistency
Chapter Length Matters. Here's Why.
How to Write Children's Books (with word counts for age categories)
Rules of the Road: Chapter Length, and Chapter Length Consistency
Chapter Length Matters. Here's Why.
Character Driven Stories
Character Grid
6 Requirements for Writing Better Character Goals
7 Reasons Your Characters Feel Flat
2 Different Types of Lies Your Character Believes
Heart First, Brain Later: Why Your Character's Emotional Arc Matters More than the Perfect Plot.
The Secret to Writing Witty Characters (Without Trying So Hard)
Antagonists
There is No Bad Guy: What to do when your Antagonist isn't a Villain
Negative Trait Thesaurus
10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist
Qualities of a Great Nemesis #1: Power
Writing Unlikeable Characters Readers Will Root For
The Antagonist Your Novel is Missing
Plotting
The Plot Clock: The Structure Template that Saved My Career
Plotting with Michael Hague's Six Stage Plot Structure
Why Your Plot isn't Working
You Have Reached the End: Things to Keep in Mind as You Write Toward the End (Erin Entrada Kelley)
Stress Testing Your Story Before It's Load-Bearing
Story in Reverse: Building Out the 7-Point Story Structure
Midpoint of Novels
Start Your Outline with These Four Questions
My 20 Step Plan to Writing a Book Part 1 (Steps 1-10)
Pacing
Worksheets
Show, Don't Tell
How to Get Emotion Onto the Page
Critique: 4 Ways to Write Gripping Internal Narrative
The Three Words That Almost Ruined Me as a Writer: Show, Don't Tell
When to Tell and Not Show
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Omitting Sensory Details
3 Tips for Improving Show Don't Tell
What Happens On and Off the Page in Your Novel
Beware of Summarizing Across Scenes
POV
Everything You Need To Know About Writing a Third Person POV
How to Use Close Third-Person to Get Closer to Your Characters
How to Write a Novel with Multiple Points of View
Writing Multiple Points of View
5 Questions About How to Balance Multiple POVs in Your Story
How to Write a Novel with Multiple Points of View
How to Write Multiple POVs the 'Game of Thrones' Way
Voice
What is the Writer's Voice? How Do You Find Your Writing Voice?
Sequels
5 Rules for How to Write a Sequel for your Book
Storytelling
How to Use Foreshadowing
The 10-Step Checklist to Writing and Above Average Novel
The Efficient Author's Cheat Sheet for Creating Suspense and Tension
Psst! Novelists - Steal These Screenwriting Secrets!
How to Know Which Parts of Your Story Readers will Like Best (It Isn't Always What You Think)
No Story Conflict? Explore Your Options
Action Scenes
How to Choreograph a Great Action Scene
Blow-by-Blow: Writing Action and Fight Scenes - 5 Tip
Beginnings
How to Use the Inciting Incident to Rescue the Beginning of Your Screenplay or Novel
4 Steps to Establish the Beginning of Your Novel
Everything You Need to Know About Inciting Incidents
Chapters
How to Organize a Chapter
Endings
How to Structure a Killer Novel Ending
Scenes
How to Write Interesting Happy Scenes? 6 Tips
10 Ways to Launch Strong Scenes
Craft: Proactive and Reactive Scenes
8 Steps for Writing the Perfect Scene Every Time
Advanced Scene Technique: The Jump Cut
Writing Tip: Make Sure Your Scene Endings Hook Your Readers
Motivation-Reaction Units: Cracking the Code to Good Writing
Rule of Threes: No, the Other One
Scene Layering with Examples
The 3-Minute Scene Fix
Don't Build Scenes Around the Information You Think You Need to Impart
Try to Get Your Scenes to Do More Than One Thing
How to Write Emotional Scenes (Without Making them Cringey)
Don't Dribble Out Morsels of Information Within a Scene
Options for Conflict in Scenes
Do's and Don'ts of Writing Flashbacks
Scene Mastery: Navigating Common Goal-Driven Scene Pitfalls
5 Easy Tips to Strengthen Your Scenes
Scene Structure and Transitions in Big Scenes
The One Question You Must Ask About Every Scene
The 5 Types of Scene Endings Every Writer Must Master
What's Your Point (Erin Entrada Kelly)
Dialogue
10 Dos and Don'ts for Writing Realistic Dialogue
Use Speaker Tags and Beats Correctly
Writing Great Dialogue: Create Power Moments Rich in Subtext
World Building
5 Tips for Writing about Fictional Technology
The 7 Deadly Sins of World Building
How Do You Describe a Place? 6 Setting Tips
Avoiding Pitfalls
General Writing
Publishing Resources
Writing How-To's (Books and other Writing Guides)