Yessica Jain
Using the Real World as Inspiration
Observation is the key to good writing. Whether you write realistic fiction or high fantasy or anything in between, grounding aspects of...
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Yessica Jain
May 25, 2023
Playing with Perspective (in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Stories)
“Everyone is the hero of their own story,” said John Barth. Most people are intrinsically aware of this, but many writers are averse to...
Yessica Jain
May 11, 2023
Freytag’s Diagram & Common Plot Types
In elementary school, we learn about Freytag’s diagram, the supposed general outline of every plot in the universe. The idea is: a story...
Yessica Jain
Feb 16, 2023
Romance Tropes
In honor of Valentine’s day, I wanted to dedicate this week’s post to romance tropes. Almost every young adult novel has a romantic...
Yessica Jain
Feb 9, 2023
Finding Inspiration for Your Story
All writers know that feeling… when you want to write, and you know you want to write, but you don’t know what to write about. Finding...
Yessica Jain
Jan 5, 2023
Story Beginnings: Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Last week, I focused on story endings, but before every ending comes a beginning. A strong hook is an important part of all stories....
Yessica Jain
Dec 29, 2022
Types of Story Endings
With the end of the year just around the corner, I wanted to spend this post focusing on story endings. Like everything with writing,...
Yessica Jain
Dec 15, 2022
Mixing Genres
Stories are defined by their genres—often more so than their characters or their plot. Whether you want to publish your story or simply...
Yessica Jain
Dec 8, 2022
Worldbuilding for Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Speculative Fiction
What makes a good story? Yes, you need characters and plotlines that intrigue your readers. But, importantly, setting is also one of the...
Yessica Jain
Nov 17, 2022
Techniques to Build Your Characters
Characters are the heart of any story. Most readers read because they’re invested in the characters. They want to see how a character...
Yessica Jain
Sep 15, 2022
Journalism: Overview
I recently completed a six-week internship with Young Voices, which is a journalism company that helps young writers write and publish...
Trisha Reddy
Jul 28, 2022
Interconnected Short Story Collections
Until a few years ago, I was under the impression that novels were the only form of literature worth pursuing. I didn’t even consider the...
Yessica Jain
Jun 2, 2022
Diversity in Literature
Happy Pride Month! In honor of pride month, this week’s post talks about the importance of diversity in literature and how to incorporate...
Yessica Jain
May 26, 2022
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Story
Stakes are the lifeblood of every story. If there’s nothing at stake for the characters, there’s nothing at stake for the readers. If...
Yessica Jain
May 12, 2022
Types of Books Series
Think of three books. Odds are, at least one of them is part of a series. Book series give readers more of what they love, while letting...
Yessica Jain
Mar 10, 2022
Writing the End of a Story
While the beginning of a story sets up the world, people, and themes, the end wraps it all together. It’s either a reward or a punishment...
Yessica Jain
Mar 3, 2022
Writing the First Chapter
It’s really easy to put down a book after reading a few pages, but it becomes increasingly more difficult to do so as you go on. Once...
Yessica Jain
Feb 3, 2022
Tropes: How to Avoid & Fix Them
Almost every story can be traced back to some core plotline that can be found in other books of that type. Harry Potter is about the...
Yessica Jain
Dec 23, 2021
Coming Up With a Story Idea
In previous posts, I have discussed drafting, revising, and editing, but however difficult these stages of the writing process may be,...
Yessica Jain
Nov 4, 2021
Research: Where Does it Fit Into the Writing Process?
Research is one of those parts of the writing process that nobody thinks about. Nobody, that is, except writers. It’s so essential but...
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