One of the best ways to engage readers in a story is to include personal interests. Some interests are shared by lots of people: pets, or baseball, for example. People who love pets usually cry when a furry secondary character dies. Baseball isn’t just a game, it’s a culture, a team, a relationship with your … Read more
This article is by Neil B. Tafani. A novel needs a strong ending in order to tell a good story. This doesn’t mean that you need to have a “happy” ending, or even an ending that gives total resolution. Your primary focus when writing an ending is to make it memorable and enjoyable to read. … Read more
In order to make your words come alive on the page it is important to understand how the reader’s mind works. If you understand how the mind processes text, and how it turns words and sentences into images and impressions, you have a tremendously powerful tool to use to your advantage. What Is Association? From … Read more
I had a problem. Readers sometimes enjoyed my short stories, giving high praise for stories I wrote in a day. Unfortunately, the novels I lovingly crafted for a year or more failed to impress anyone. No matter how I experimented, I couldn’t write a compelling novel, and was getting frustrated over the continuous lack of … Read more
The best images and the strongest impressions we get from stories are those we create in our own minds. No matter how well I describe something, my reader’s impression will never be exactly the same as mine. As a writer, I’ve chosen to embrace this. Rather than sweating about making my descriptions as correct and … Read more
We hear a lot of popular advice on writing forums and in craft books. At the top of the list, along with “show, don’t tell” and “write what you know” is “make it worse.” While any of these bits of advice are great to explore, I am here today to talk specifically about making things … Read more
This article is by Jaiden M. Pierson. As an author, one of the hardest tasks you must undertake is to put everything that is needed into a story, without putting any more than is needed. Your readers have to put a lot more time and energy into your book than they would into a movie … Read more
I’m sure we’ve all heard the advice “write what you know” at one time or another. It’s good, sensible advice. It works as long as you don’t look at it too closely. Because what do you actually know? In this article I’m going to look at a few tips for writing what you don’t know. When … Read more
When the spark of a new story ignites in my brain, often it is merely a snap shot, or the heart tug of an emotional moment. That heart tug can sometimes hit me so hard, and feel so real, that I know there is a story lurking behind it, begging to be written. Erik Bork, … Read more
This article is by George Clark. In this modern age of the internet and self-publishing, the literary world is being flooded with new entries, in every genre, every day. Distinguishing yourself from the fantasy writing crowd can be a difficult feat to accomplish. Today, I am going to be discussing a particular aspect of fantasy … Read more