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Writing tense dialogue: 5 ways to add arresting tension
Writing tense dialogue is effective in making characters' conversations interesting. When every exchange is a pleasantry or obvious observation, dialogue doesn't do the work it can to move a story along. Tense dialogue, whether an argument between colleagues, lovers, or hero and villain, adds a ...
September 17th, 2018
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Writing coach advice: 8 things I learned writing my debut
This is a guest contribution by Alyssa Hollingsworth, a writing coach at Now Novel whose debut The Eleventh Trade is out this month with Macmillan in the US and HotKey in the UK. About the same time I began working for Now Novel as a writing coach, my literary agent Amber Caravéo asked t...
September 12th, 2018
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5 ways to subvert character clichés and archetypes
This guest contribution by the team at Reedsy explores ways to subvert character clichés for a less predictable story. Creating the next Harry Potter or Holden Caulfield is no easy feat! When writing secondary characters in particular, it’s easy to fall back on clichéd archetypes and stock ch...
September 6th, 2018
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How to write mystery: 6 ways to create suspense
Learning how to write mystery is easy when you understand the ingredients of mystery and suspense. Every good story has unknowns readers want answered, yet a good mystery makes us need to know. Here are 6 ways to create suspense and build mystery: First, what are mystery and suspense? ...
September 3rd, 2018
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10 dialogue tips to hook readers
Understanding how to write dialogue in a story enables you to bring characters to life using their individual voices. Great dialogue moves your story along at a good pace, giving your reader a break from non-stop narrative prose. Try these dialogue tips for writing effective speech: How to us...
August 30th, 2018
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Finding sentences to start a story: 7 methods
The beginning sentence of a story is often what we'll tweak last. Finding sentences to start a story is easier, after all, when you know later developments you could echo. Read 7 examples of effective opening sentences and the options they suggest for ways to begin: 1. Introduce a key charact...
August 27th, 2018
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How to develop story themes: 5 theme examples
The recurring ideas or broad themes of books give us insights into ideas such as 'love', 'honor', 'good vs evil' and much more. Read 5 common theme examples from books that show how to take your story's 'big ideas' and use them to create additional characters and subplots: What is a them...
August 23rd, 2018
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Character flaw list: 30 intriguing character flaws
Great, character-driven stories often have deeply flawed characters at their heart. Human flaws such as lust for power, greed and jealousy explain the errors many tragic figures from books make, from Mr Kurtz to Lord Voldemort. Let's briefly look at three types of character flaws. A minor ch...
August 20th, 2018
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Character mannerisms: Describing character quirks and tics
Character mannerisms - the things people repeatedly do with their faces, hands, or voices without always realizing - help to create detailed characters. Sometimes we use mannerisms for humour, at other times to tell characters apart. Read tips for creating mannerisms, believable quirks and tics,...
August 16th, 2018
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Character description: 7 ways to avoid weak imagery
Strong character description is key to creating vivid and realistic characters. We may be tempted to reach first for obvious elements of physical description, such as eye and hair color. Yet strong imagery tells us more about a character's personality, quirks, strengths and flaws. To avoid weak ...
August 14th, 2018
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What is narrative? 5 narrative types and examples
Narration and narrative are two key terms in writing fiction. Read on to learn what a narrative story is, as well as five types of narrative, with examples: What is narrative? Narrative is a style of writing that connects ideas, concepts or events. It shows a sequence of events. Humans lik...
August 2nd, 2018
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How to write chapters: Create a compelling Chapter 3
We've written about how to structure a chapter generally, writing good opening paragraphs and pages, and developing Chapter One's intrigue in your second chapter. Writing a good third chapter is equally important. Your early chapters hook readers and build interest you can sustain. Read ideas an...
July 30th, 2018
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