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Writing process: From discovery to done (complete guide)
Writing process stages Discovery or finding ideas Prewriting Writing process challenges Drafting stories Writing feedback and development Revision Editing Publication and promotion The writing process is a complex, not always linear creative process. From 'plott...
March 13th, 2023
Read post...Suspense writing: Examples and devices for tenser stories
Suspense refers to both genre and a storytelling device that creates tension and builds your reader's desire to find out. Read suspense writing examples, learn suspense-adding story devices you can use, and what experts at creating suspense say. What is suspense? Suspense (defined by Oxfor...
February 27th, 2023
Read post...170 plot development questions (plus worksheet)
Productive plot development questions for building stories help you turn the core of a plot idea into a many-layered story. Read 170 plot questions divided into helpful focus categories and answer 'who, what, why, where, and when' questions to brainstorm ideas. 100 plot questions from beginni...
May 8th, 2023
Read post...Context and subtext in dialogue: Creating layered speech
Context and subtext in dialogue helps us read place, emotion, motivation and more in speech. Use this guide to context and subtext in dialogue to write communication that comes alive in spoken and unspoken cues. What is subtext in conversation? Definition and types 'Subtext' is what lies ...
May 1st, 2023
Read post...Dialogue writing examples from top books vs AI (2023)
Read dialogue writing examples from diverse genres as we compare them to examples AI gave given the same scenario, for seven ultimate insights: How we chose the dialogue examples for this study We took the first seven books listed under the Kindle Unlimited 'Featured' section on Amazon for...
May 15th, 2023
Read post...Daily writing prompts: 365 ways to practice craft
Daily writing prompts on craft challenges and literary devices give a fun way to build your fiction-writing skills. A prompt exercise could even inspire your next, great story. Bookmark and dip into 365 writing prompts in seventy-three categories, from 'abstract vs concrete language' to 'zeugma'...
June 12th, 2023
Read post...How to write a novella: 6 essential tips
Learning how to write a novella is excellent preparation for writing your first novel. It enables you to work out characters and themes more extensively than a short story does. Writing a novella gives you helpful scaffolding for an expanded and more detailed book or series. Read on for a h...
August 21st, 2023
Read post...Rising action that grips readers: 10 epic climax tips
What is rising action in a story? How do you make the build-up to the climax gripping, saturated with tension? Rising action is core to impactful dramatic structure. Learn all about it and read ten ideas and examples to make your story gripping: What is rising action? 'Rising action' refe...
July 16th, 2023
Read post...Finding your writing voice 5 points to consider
What sets you apart from other writers? How do you stand out from the crowd? The answer lies in finding your unique writing voice. In this blog two guest writers give their take on how to find and hone your voice. Define ‘writer’s voice’ A writer’s voice brings your creative identit...
July 31st, 2023
Read post...The benefits of reading like a writer
Reading is a good recreational activity, but, for writers, it is a vital tool that can be used to hone the craft. The stories we read provide good guidelines for structuring plot and what various types of plot look like in action, as well as offering in-depth examples of various writing techniqu...
August 7th, 2023
Read post...Voices on the page: points to consider when writing dialogue
Dialogue is a fictional tool: it is not the kind of conversation you would have in real life, and nor should it be. In real life we ask our partners if they have remembered to buy the milk, and if they say yes, that’s it. That’s hardly riveting conversation. There’s no ‘story’ in this simple exc...
September 11th, 2023
Read post...How to write a novel using the Save the Cat! method
Background to Save the Cat! Firstly, here's a bit of background on this technique for crafting a story. The "Save the Cat!" method was first created by Blake Snyder in 2005. A screenwriter and author he outlined this method in his popular screenwriting book Save the Cat! The Last Book on Scr...
September 22nd, 2023
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