Martin Cavannagh

Contributor

Writer, presenter, and Head of Content at Reedsy. As the host of Reedsy Live, Martin has had the pleasure of sharing cutting-edge insights from some of the world's best editors, designers, marketers, and the occasional bestselling author. His newsletters, live streams, and blog posts reach millions of writers each month, inspiring the next generation of beloved writers. 

Martin has appeared on various panels (both virtual and in-person), including the Writer's Summit at the 2024 London Book Fair. Outside of books, his interests include hillwalking, the films of Wong Kar-Wai, and discovering great local noodle dishes.

Recent posts

Character archetypes: How to enrich your novel's cast

The best-loved fiction for children, teens and adults shares characters who feel familiar. This is because effective characters often have strong archetypal qualities. They have combinations of fears and goals - character psychology - we've seen before. What are character archetypes, exactl...

April 24th, 2017

Read post...

Story setting ideas: 6 effective setting examples and tips

The best book setting ideas are highly effective. Setting is a literary device where a writer establishes a time frame, location and the environment of a story. In a novel where the author performs careful worldbuilding, the story setting enriches plot events with atmosphere and...

February 20th, 2017

Read post...

How to write a romance novel: Avoid romance writing mistakes

Writing romance is perennially popular, and romance novels continue to sell in great numbers. Learn how to write a romance novel and avoid clichés in your love story ideas, themes and characters. Start with these 9 romance writing tips: Know the romance genre (and your own subgenre) inside o...

February 13th, 2017

Read post...

10 of 2016's best articles on writing

Read our list of 10 useful and insightful posts on the craft and psychology of writing from the past year: 1. ‘6 Tips for How to Organize your Novel’s Edits’ – K.M. Weiland Katie Weiland shares helpful tips for how to edit your novel methodically. Weiland advises to ‘clear out th...

December 15th, 2016

Read post...

How to create a believable character: 8 tactics

Believable characters are the lifeblood of great stories. Get inspired and start creating characters readers love using these 8 tactics: How to create believable characters: Do preliminary character sketches Ask your story's cast of characters questions Give characters wants and needs (go...

October 24th, 2016

Read post...

Now Novel's NaNoWriMo Hub: How to be NaNoWriMo Winners

NaNoWriMo winners who reach the 50,000-word mark learn how to prepare, persevere and finish writing a novel under pressure. Use these resources to succeed and join their ranks: NaNoWriMo Preparation The NaNoWriMo rules don’t let you use any pre-written draft material. You have to start afr...

October 11th, 2016

Read post...