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How to evoke powerful images in your reader's mind
Guest author Jerry Jenkins shares his top tips for authors, including 'engaging the theater of your reader's mind' and resisting the urge to explain. A writer wrote me recently and complained she was struggling to get enough detail into her story to give her readers the 'same pictures I see ...
May 9th, 2019
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Writing a scene that engages your reader: 5 tactics
Whether you're writing a novel, a screenplay, graphic novel or other kind of story, writing a scene that engages your reader from start to finish is crucial. Try these 5 tactics to keep scenes engaging: 1. Make your mise-en-scène interesting Mise en scène is a French term from film and ...
May 6th, 2019
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Vivid story setting description: Examples and insights
Vivid story setting descriptions helps us anchor a story's action in place. Listed below are story setting description examples that reveal the varied functions of setting description. 1. Use setting description to highlight characters' turning points What characters do in a place tells us...
April 29th, 2019
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Why write a book? 10 global authors give reasons to write
Why write a book? It's a question authors are asked time and again (or more simply, 'Why do you write?'). To celebrate World Book and Copyright Day - UNESCO's initiative to promote reading, publishing, and access to books - we're sharing international authors' words on the value of writing: W...
April 23rd, 2019
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10 useful apps for writers to help you create
Every part of writing a story has its challenges. A good arsenal of writing tools makes your process easier. Try these writing tools we've grouped by purpose: Finding ideas | Writing productivity | Organising your writing and research | Writing and editing your draft 1. Apps for finding st...
April 15th, 2019
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Indirect characterization: Revealing characters subtly
Indirect characterization is writing that paints in character detail by showing rather than telling. Rather than only tell readers about characters’ personalities and values, you can reveal them subtly through dialogue, actions and appearances. Read these tips and examples: 1. Use il...
April 10th, 2019
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Setting the scene: 6 ways to introduce place in stories
Setting the scene for a story is important. This is vital whether you are writing a fictional story or a nonfiction book, although the scene will not be fictional then, of course. Giving readers a vivid sense of where and when events take place anchors action and dialogue. When readers are able ...
April 1st, 2019
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Character tropes: 5 tips to avoid stock types
Character tropes (common stock characters) have their place in stories. Satires and spoofs, for example, use types such as the 'cool mom' or 'orphan who must save the world'. Yet character tropes quickly dull a story when characters read as too predictable. To avoid tropes: 1. Know your chara...
March 25th, 2019
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How to overcome writer's block: 14 methods
Writer’s block is frustrating when you have a story you want to tell but can't find the words to tell it. However, feeling stuck needn't be the end. Try the tips below: 1. Set a regular writing time Set a regular time for writing. It doesn’t have to be every day. It can be every other day,...
March 22nd, 2019
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Using a novel outline template: 5 tips for story prep
You can easily find a novel outline template such as a spreadsheet full of empty fields to fill. Yet columns and rows of blank space are also daunting. Here are 5 tips for an easier outlining process: 1. Choose a flexible story outline template The word 'template' has connotations of sten...
March 18th, 2019
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How to find motivation to write: Value, engage, reward
'Motivation' is a word that comes up time and again when we survey readers and members on writing challenges. There may not be a single, exclusive solution for how to find motivation to write. Yet here are 5 ways to stay fired up and on track: 1. Focus on writing tasks that give intrinsic val...
March 14th, 2019
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What is motif in literature? Using repetition creatively
The word 'motif' is often used interchangeably with the word 'theme' in writing about stories. What exactly are motifs in stories, and how can you use them effectively? Read a definition followed by tips to use them imaginatively: What is a motif? Motif vs theme Oxford dictionaries define ...
March 11th, 2019
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