WRITING TIPS

Observation is the key to good writing. Whether you write realistic fiction or high fantasy or anything in between, grounding aspects of...

“Everyone is the hero of their own story,” said John Barth. Most people are intrinsically aware of this, but many writers are averse to...

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...

Last week, I focused on story endings, but before every ending comes a beginning. A strong hook is an important part of all stories....

With the end of the year just around the corner, I wanted to spend this post focusing on story endings. Like everything with writing,...

Literary Magazines, or LitMags, are—you guessed it—magazines exhibiting literature. They vary in type and size, catering to different...

Stories are defined by their genres—often more so than their characters or their plot. Whether you want to publish your story or simply...

A week after the end of NaNoWriMo, you may have a 50,000-word novel lying around. What next? While revising and editing may seem...

What makes a good story? Yes, you need characters and plotlines that intrigue your readers. But, importantly, setting is also one of the...

If you’re interested in launching a writing club, setting up an Instagram writing account, or simply motivating your friends to write,...

Happy Pride Month! In honor of pride month, this week’s post talks about the importance of diversity in literature and how to incorporate...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In previous posts, I have discussed drafting, revising, and editing, but however difficult these stages of the writing process may be,...

Research is one of those parts of the writing process that nobody thinks about. Nobody, that is, except writers. It’s so essential but...

For most writers, a journal is their most prized possession (I may or may not be exaggerating). Some writers have twenty mostly empty...

The old mentor, the quest, the secret heir… These are all examples of common tropes in fantasy. If you’re an avid fantasy reader, you can...

At heart, books are defined by the decisions of their characters. That’s why it is essential that characters have a clear moral code....