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The Rise of Romantasy: Love in Enchanted Worlds
It is not many authors that walk into a New York City bookstore to be greeted by screaming fans. But that’s exactly what happened with romantasy author Sarah J Maas in February 2024. Just before midnight she surprised fans waiting for the imminent publication of latest novel, House of Flame and ...
October 7th, 2024
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Writing well-developed female characters
Does your story containing female characters pass the Bechdel test? Never heard of it? Simply put the Bechdel test is a way of evaluating whether or not a film or any other work of fiction portrays women in a way that is sexist or characterized by gender stereotyping. To...
August 26th, 2024
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The rise of eco-fiction: a literary response to environmental crisis
The world is getting hotter and fiction writers’ responses to environmental and climate change are heating up too. While not a new genre, its rise can be dated to the 1960s and 1970s, more and more novels and non-fiction works now deal with the impact of this climate crisis. Eco-fiction is on th...
July 29th, 2024
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Writing in the voice of a child
A friend recently told me of her difficulty in writing her memoir from a child’s point of view. She’s finding it really difficult to do so. That’s understandable in a memoir, I feel, as you are looking back with an adult’s eyes but trying to process the world through a child’s. But it’s not impo...
June 24th, 2024
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Forward planning vs. creative freedom in writing
Planning ahead and allowing for inspiration are both important aspects of writing and finishing a novel, but it can seem difficult to balance them especially since there is a lot of conflicting advice from novelists and writing teachers. However, the tips below can help achieve that balance. Some...
June 14th, 2024
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Writing sex scenes: How to heat up romance
The writing of sex scenes has been turned on its head by the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy written by E.L. James. The sex in her books though, as unconventional as it is, is the premise of the entire plot. While this hasn’t detracted from it becoming a bestseller (quite the contr...
June 10th, 2024
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Interiority in fiction: the glue between inner and outer worlds
Fiction provides a window into the lives, thoughts, and emotions of characters. One of the most powerful tools a writer has in their arsenal to achieve this is the use of interiority. Interiority, or the depiction of a character's inner thoughts and feelings, allows readers to step inside the mi...
June 3rd, 2024
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Delving into fourth person point of view
‘Whenever we saw Mrs. Lisbon we looked in vain for some sign of the beauty that must have once been hers. But the plump arms, the brutally cut steel-wool hair, and the librarian’s glasses foiled us every time.’ These lines are from the opening chapter of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey E...
May 27th, 2024
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A definitive guide to mastering point of view
When you crack open a novel you're stepping into the shoes of the narrator of the story. And how that story unfolds and immerses you largely depends on the point of view (POV) it's told from. Point of view isn't just a technical choice or term; it's the lens through which readers experience the ...
May 20th, 2024
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EB French on her writing journey
EB French is currently in our Group Coaching program, and has just released her first novel, Botanical Love. It's a romantic comedy described as as a sweet workplace romance in small-town Georgia. Here's a synopsis: Mari has focused on her career for far too long, mostly because plants don'...
May 16th, 2024
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End notes: what goes at the back of a book
We have all had the experience of reading a novel, getting to the end and feeling unsatisfied. Something wasn’t right, we expected more, the story was so big, so enjoyable and yet, it’s hard to put a finger on it. We may now vow never to read another word from that author again. More than lik...
May 13th, 2024
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Elevate writing using literary devices
Recognize any of these literary device?'It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.' – Charles Dickens'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.' The Dickens quote, from the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, is an example of anaphora, while the Peter piper tongue twister might have be...
May 6th, 2024
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