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Writing crime novels: Creating riveting human drama
Crime novels are full of surprising turns, hidden motives, human drama and tragedy. They give us the thrill of trying to figure out 'whodunnit'. Or the pathos and interest of seeing how different characters respond to a tragic, intense situation. Here are tips for writing captivating crime novel...
January 28th, 2019
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Showing vs telling: 'Show don't tell' in narration
Show don't tell is one of the most abused pieces of writing advice. Although both showing and telling in narration are important, knowing when to use which (and what makes explicit telling less effective in some cases) helps. Here are tips for balancing general and specific detail in you...
January 17th, 2019
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What are loglines? 6 tips to write strong summaries
There are many technical writing terms to learn as you become a writer. A word you might come across from time to time is 'logline'. What are loglines, why is this type of summary helpful, and how can you write better ones? Read these logline definitions, tips and examples: Defining loglines ...
January 14th, 2019
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Main character writing: 6 ideas for a strong key cast
The main character in a story is one of the most vital aspects. Knowing how to write an engaging main character is a vital skill for authors. Read on for definitions, examples and tips to make primary characters unforgettable: What makes a main character? A main character is a person in a ...
January 10th, 2019
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Story outlining: 7 ways to use Now Novel's dashboard
Whether you're outlining a new story idea or finding ways to connect scenes you've drafted into a structured narrative, use the Now Novel dashboard to finish easier. Use our story outlining tool to: 1. Develop and compare multiple story ideas When it's hard to choose between new ideas, cre...
January 7th, 2019
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Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story
Scene breaks and transitions allow us to experience different narrative time-frames and situations involving different characters in short succession. Writing good scene breaks and transitions will keep your story moving, even as you switch between settings (places and times) and viewpoints. Her...
December 20th, 2018
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Round-up: Top 10 writing articles of 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, here are the 10 most popular blog posts from the past year on Now Novel, as well as 10 posts we loved on writing websites we like. Enjoy and happy holidays! 10 best writing articles on Now Novel in 2018 Here are our most-read posts from 2018: 1. Dialog...
December 16th, 2018
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Elements of setting: How to create a vivid world
The elements of setting - time, place, mood, social and cultural context - help to make a novel feel real and alive. This is an essential element of writing that helps anchor your writing within a specific place. Read more about using the ingredients of setting to make your story more vivid...
December 13th, 2018
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How to plan a story in scenes: 5 steps
In novels, screenwriting, and play-writing a scene is a useful structuring device for deciding what happens, where, to whom, and why. There are many ways to outline a story, but planning scene by scene is a useful way to make sure every scene has purpose, intrigue, and the other ingredients of a...
December 10th, 2018
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World building: Writing the natural environment
In epic fantasy world building, natural environments provide possible hazards (freezing cold, dangerous volcanoes) and mood or atmosphere. Even in 'realist' fiction set in our own world, environment (such as the details that make a coastal city familiar, for example), is a key part of setting. R...
December 6th, 2018
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Scene writing tips: 5 ways to avoid filler
Great scene writing makes each part count towards the whole. This is particularly important when working in shorter forms such as short stories or one-hour TV episodes. Keep your scenes lean using these 5 scene writing tips: 1. Remove scene scaffolding Critics often marvel at the spare or ...
December 3rd, 2018
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Writing tools: Now Novel's Scene and World Builder
When we asked readers to share their number one writing challenges with us, two areas of writing came up repeatedly. The first was plotting and planning. The second was worldbuilding. So we're excited to bring you two additional writing tools, the Scene Builder and World Builder. Here are 8 ways...
November 26th, 2018
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