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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

How to write a scene: Nailing purpose and structure

Understanding how to keep a scene interesting is a crucial skill for writing a novel or screenplay. Scenes are the basic building blocks of a chapter or act. Read on for tips on how to write a scene, plus analysis of story scene examples What is a scene exactly? The word scene broadly mean...

March 4th, 2024

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5 ways to start a story: Choosing a bold beginning

Great authors show us there are many ways to start a story. You could begin a novel with a narrator/character introducing himself, like Salinger's Holden Caufield or Dickens' David Copperfield. Or you could begin in the thick of action, as Ray Bradbury's does in his classic novel, Fahrenhei...

January 21st, 2024

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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

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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

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How to write a horror story: Telling tales of terror

Learning how to write horror is a useful for any writer. The genre contains storytelling elements that are useful beyond it. Read a concise guide to horror. We explore what horror is, key elements of horror, plus tips and quotes from masters of horror film and fiction. What is horror? Eleme...

April 17th, 2023

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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

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