Author: Jordan

Jordan Kantey is an editor, writer and writing workshop facilitator. He’s been helping authors develop their stories for ten years. He achieved his Honours in English Literature with distinction from the University of Cape Town. He has had poems published in several journals and an anthology. He blogs about writing craft and process at Now Novel and loves to help aspiring authors reach their goals.

Find out more:

He has been interviewed about his writing, editing and coaching on YouTube.
He has also shared his writing skills on sites such as Writers helping writers.
In addition, he served as a judge for a number of awards. These include Page Turner Young Writer Award as well as the Elegant Literature’s Behind the Veil’s contest for new writers.
He showcased his writing talents with a five-star rated writing guide, How to Write Scenes: A Concise Guide to Scene Structure, which is available on Amazon.

Articles on the Now Novel blog:

Character writing

Main character writing: 6 ideas for a strong key cast

Post author By Jordan
6 Comments on Main character writing: 6 ideas for a strong key cast

The main character in a story is one of the most vital aspects. Knowing how to write an engaging main character is a vital skill for authors. Read on for definitions, examples and tips to make primary characters unforgettable:

Tags character writing, main characters

Now Novel

Story outlining: 7 ways to use Now Novel’s dashboard

Post author By Jordan
No Comments on Story outlining: 7 ways to use Now Novel’s dashboard

Whether you’re outlining a new story idea or finding ways to connect scenes you’ve drafted into a structured narrative, use the Now Novel dashboard to finish easier. Use our story outlining tool to:

Scene writing

Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story

Post author By Jordan
7 Comments on Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story

Scene breaks and transitions allow us to experience different narrative time-frames and situations involving different characters in short succession. Writing good scene breaks and transitions will keep your story moving, even as you switch between settings (places and times) and viewpoints. Here’s how you can use scene breaks and transitions:

Tags scene structure, writing scene transitions

Writing Inspiration

Round-up: Top 10 writing articles of 2018

Post author By Jordan
2 Comments on Round-up: Top 10 writing articles of 2018

As 2018 draws to a close, here are the 10 most popular blog posts from the past year on Now Novel, as well as 10 posts we loved on writing websites we like. Enjoy and happy holidays!

Story Structure

How to plan a story in scenes: 5 steps

Post author By Jordan
4 Comments on How to plan a story in scenes: 5 steps

In novels, screenwriting, and play-writing a scene is a useful structuring device for deciding what happens, where, to whom, and why. There are many ways to outline a story, but planning scene by scene is a useful way to make sure every scene has purpose, intrigue, and the other ingredients of a great read. Here are 5 tips to plan and link individual scenes to create structured story arcs:

Worldbuilding

World building: Writing the natural environment

Post author By Jordan
3 Comments on World building: Writing the natural environment

In epic fantasy world building, natural environments provide possible hazards (freezing cold, dangerous volcanoes) and mood or atmosphere. Even in ‘realist’ fiction set in our own world, environment (such as the details that make a coastal city familiar, for example), is a key part of setting. Read tips for creating an engaging natural world for your story:

Tags world building questions

Story Structure

Scene writing tips: 5 ways to avoid filler

Post author By Jordan
2 Comments on Scene writing tips: 5 ways to avoid filler

Great scene writing makes each part count towards the whole. This is particularly important when working in shorter forms such as short stories or one-hour TV episodes. Keep your scenes lean using these 5 scene writing tips:

Writing tools

Writing tools: Now Novel’s Scene and World Builder

Post author By Jordan
4 Comments on Writing tools: Now Novel’s Scene and World Builder

When we asked readers to share their number one writing challenges with us, two areas of writing came up repeatedly. The first was plotting and planning. The second was worldbuilding. So we’re excited to bring you two additional writing tools, the Scene Builder and World Builder. Here are 8 ways you use them to develop a more detailed, helpful and inspiring outline:

Tags writing tools

Featured Articles Plotting Series writing

How to plot a series: 8 steps for multi-book arcs

Post author By Jordan
23 Comments on How to plot a series: 8 steps for multi-book arcs

Plotting just one novel is challenging, never mind plotting a multi-book arc. Having structure and a plan helps. Here’s how to plot a series in 8 structured steps

Tags plotting a series

Find out more:

Articles on the Now Novel blog:

Pin It on Pinterest