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How to write suspense like The Hunger Games
Though written as a YA novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was a big hit with readers of all ages. One key to its success was its use of suspense, and we can examine it to learn how to write suspense ourselves. First, create an engaging protagonist. The reader needs to care what happens ...
February 20th, 2014
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Creating mood like Haruki Murakami
Mood has a great deal to do with the success of a piece of fiction because it is related to how the story makes the reader feel. A writer aiming for a melancholy or surreal mood in fiction could study the novels of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami for tips on how to achieve those moods. Murakami...
February 17th, 2014
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Understanding the snowflake method
There are nearly as many ways to approach writing a novel as there are writers, but many swear by an approach known as the snowflake method. Developed by writer Randy Ingermanson, the snowflake method can be particularly helpful to writers who prefer to plan extensively before setting out to wri...
February 3rd, 2014
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Chekhov's Gun: What it is and how to use it like a pro
'Chekhov's Gun' is a concept that describes how every element of a story should contribute to the whole. It comes from Anton Chekhov's famous book writing advice: 'If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go...
January 28th, 2014
Read post...Writer's tip: Avoid passive voice
It's an often given writer's tip, but few tips for writers cause as much confusion as the caution to avoid passive voice. Understanding what passive voice is and why it should be avoided can clear up this confusion. One of the biggest problems with this tip is that so few people understand w...
January 21st, 2014
Read post...How To: Make a promise to write (and keep it)
It's a mystery why we so often resist doing the very things that we most want to be doing whether it's exercise, writing or some other project we long to tackle. Once we get started, we usually are glad we did and have little trouble continuing, but how can we make sure we write consistently in ...
January 20th, 2014
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5 ways to ensure you will write every week
A consistent dedication to writing regularly is often what separates the successful writers from the unsuccessful ones. Even so, it can be all too easy to get caught up in the other distractions of life and let writing fall by the wayside. An optimistic New Year's writing resolution or written pl...
January 9th, 2014
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The value of beta readers: how to find and benefit from them
The breakdown of the traditional publishing model and increasing popularity of e-readers has opened up enormous opportunity for self published authors. But with this comes the shift of responsibility for everything from editing to marketing, which used to be done by print publishers. This means t...
January 6th, 2014
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How to build an audience of early readers
This is a guest post by Dominic Tarn. No one wants to publish a book only to be greeted by the deafening silence. Understanding how to build an audience of early readers will ensure people spread the word about your book: 1. Start marketing early They key to it is to start marketing early - the e...
December 27th, 2013
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5 classic fantasy books to read
Most lovers of fantasy fiction are well-acquainted with such classic works as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz and C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. But what are some of the lesser-known but important wor...
December 5th, 2013
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The difference between fantasy and science fiction
What's the difference between fantasy and science fiction? There are a few key differences between the genres that are worth thinking about in any 'science fiction vs fantasy' debate. Why do the differences between sci-fi and fantasy matter? One of the most important reasons to think about...
November 26th, 2013
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Character posture: How to describe characters' bearing
When we think about describing a character, we often think of listing items like hair colour, eye colour and body type. Character posture is important too: How we bear ourselves tells others a lot about us. Here are tips on using posture to bring out what makes each of your fictional charac...
November 14th, 2013
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