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What makes a plot intriguing? 6 ideas
What makes a plot keep you turning pages? Plot has many moving parts. Incidents and elaborations, causes and effects, doubling back and forecasting approaching events. Learn more about the relation between 'plot' and 'story' and ways to make your plot more captivating: 1. Elaborate your story...
January 13th, 2020
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Write with purpose: 7 ways to keep drafts focused
As in memorable music where each note feels carefully considered, many great books have a strong sense of underlying purpose. How do you write with purpose and direction? Here are 7 ways to keep drafts focused: 7 ways to main your draft's focus: Use a flexible outline Write the last lines...
January 27th, 2020
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Plot hole pitfalls: 7 tips to avoid and fix
A plot hole, like a glaring grammar or typographical error, takes your reader out of the story. Read definitions of types of plot holes, plus 7 tips to avoid and fix them: What is a plot hole? A plot hole in a novel, film, play or other story medium is a gap (as the word 'hole' implies) in...
April 6th, 2020
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Lyrical writing: 5 tips for crafting richer prose
Lyrical writing is writing that is song-like, poetic, or deeply evocative. Below we have 5 simple tips to write in a more lyrical style. First, though, let's define the lyrical style of writing. We've all read books in which the writing can be simply described as beautiful. The writing ...
April 14th, 2020
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Writing your best short story: 7 ideas
The best short story anthologies and collections show us how a brief snapshot can excite us, move us, surprise us, make us laugh. How do you write the best short story you can? Read 7 ideas: How to write the best short story possible: Learn from the great short story writers Choose an int...
May 18th, 2020
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Building a bold narrator's voice: 5 methods
Building a memorable narrator’s voice is challenging. Try these 5 methods to fill your narrator with personality: 1. Suggest age via chosen language When the narrator is not involved in the story, is more of a passive observer, it’s fine not to give your narrator their own distinct persona...
May 26th, 2020
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40 writing topics to inspire your next story
Getting inspiration through writing topics and prompts is one way to find your next story idea. Here are 40 creative writing prompts and topics organized by genre plus ways to come up with your own to find your own writing style and writing process. You might want to play around with these promp...
June 8th, 2020
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Suspense in books: 6 ways to grow anticipation
Suspense in books is essential if you want to keep reader's rapt with anticipation, whatever your genre. How can you give readers that tightrope-walking feeling? Try these 6 suspense builders: How to build suspense in books: Show ambiguous action Add urgency Foreshadow uneasy situat...
June 22nd, 2020
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How to make dialogue in writing carry your story
Dialogue in writing is tricky to master, but good dialogue carries the story. Dialogue may build pace and conflict, add tone and atmosphere, introduce and develop characters and more. Here are 5 tips to make your dialogue serve multiple useful purposes: Making dialogue in writing drive your s...
June 29th, 2020
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How to write a biography: 7 life-writing ideas
Biography - literally 'life writing' - poses a variety of challenges. Balancing historical narration and day-to-day incident, for example. Or choosing what to include and what to leave out. Read 7 ideas on how to write a biography, with examples from biographical writing: 7 life-writing ideas...
July 15th, 2020
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The dinkus: 6 uses for scene breaks
The dinkus - a a typographic symbol between story or essay sections - is a source of confusion to many writers. To use, or not to use? What is a dinkus actually for? Read a definition of the dinkus, plus 6 ideas on creative ways to use them: Scene break markers: When to use a dinkus What ...
July 20th, 2020
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Dialogue 101: Using dialogue tags vs action tags
How do you show who's speaking in dialogue? When do you use 'she said'? When do you not? How else can you show a person's emotions or state of mind in conversation? Read definitions clarifying the uses of dialogue tags vs action tags, and examples that illustrate effective dialogue attribution: ...
August 3rd, 2020
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