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.

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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:

Story settings

How do you describe a place? 6 setting tips

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The setting of your story is key to readers being able to imagine ‘being there’. How do you describe a place so it is characterful and contributes effectively to your story? Try these 6 tips:

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Short stories

Writing a short story: 8 ways it will help your craft

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The short story has a long and rich tradition, spanning everything from the Gothic tales of Poe to contemporary masterpieces. Writing a short story will improve your writing skills, as you can apply many of the techniques you master in the process to longer forms. Telling a complete story in 5,000 words rather than 100,000 nurtures your storytelling abilities because you:

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Character writing

Character arc template: 5 steps to strong character arcs

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Writing character profiles and brainstorming main characters’ arcs helps establish story direction. A good character arc template includes facts about your characters’ goals, high points and low points. Here are 5 steps to building a dynamic character journey:

Writing suspense

How to create tension in a story: 8 simple steps

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Understanding how to create tension in a story is key to writing a gripping, ‘I’ll just read one more page before bed’ read. Here are eight steps to ensure your story has effective narrative tension. Watch the brief video below, then read the article:

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Character writing Writing description

Describing characters’ first appearances: 6 tips

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Think back to the first time you met someone you now know well. Can you remember what you noticed about them first? Describing characters’ first appearances effectively is key to building characters who linger in the mind. Here are 6 tips on how to describe your characters at first introduction:

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Now Novel

Updating our online writing tools: 8 lessons and changes

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Over the past year, we’ve spoken to Now Novel members and visitors to better understand your writing challenges and processes. We’ve funneled the insights people shared into exciting improvements to our story brainstorming and outlining tools, now live. Here are 8 lessons we learned and how we used them to develop a better online writing tool:

Writing Motivation

How to write a book in 30 days: 8 key tips

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Annual writing sprints like NaNoWriMo have many experienced and new authors alike testing their limits. Writing a book – a carefully, beautifully constructed book – does take time. Usually, much longer than 30 days. Yet trying this exercise is useful for building discipline, focus and just getting the first draft done. Here are 8 tips to help:

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First drafts Writing Process

How to write a book fast: 5 simple rules

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Learning how to write a book fast is a matter of having a process and tools to streamline the parts of writing a book that take the most time. Whether you’re preparing for a write-a-thon like NaNoWriMo or have readers breathing down your neck for your next series installment, here are ways to write a book faster:

Point of view Scene writing

Dramatic point of view: 5 tips for fly-on-the-wall scenes

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‘Point of view’ is an element of writing that confuses many beginning authors. There are various types, from omniscient to limited third person. Dramatic point of view is one such type. Read a definition of dramatic point of view along with examples and tips to help you use this POV well:

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