Writing love stories can be lucrative. Publishing sensations such as Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts as well as literary romance authors have found legions of readers. Why? Because best-loved romantic stories have key ingredients of a good tale: character and plot, tension, suspense, and (often) wonder and surprise. Yet there are many pitfalls in romantic writing: […]
Scene breaks and transitions allow us to experience things happening in different places and times, and to different characters. Writing good scene breaks and transitions will keep your story moving, even as you switch between settings (places and times) and viewpoints. Read tips and illustrative examples: (more…)
A well-structured story is satisfying to read, as independent parts feel cohesive and related. Read a definition of story structure, followed by effective story structure examples and the tips they suggest: (more…)
There are many world building steps in creating the setting for a story or novel. What steps you include will depend on the nature of your story. Read tips for writing the natural environment, how you can use it to create narrative tension, socio-historical change, symbolism and more: (more…)
Realistic dialogue doesn’t necessarily mimic everyday speech. There’s a lot of real-world filler we remove when writing dialogue (e.g. pleasantries, ‘Fine thanks and you?’) Yet for dialogue to feel real, it’s important to avoid missteps that make dialogue ring hollow: (more…)
Learning how to write a bestseller isn’t as simple as making sure your book ticks a few boxes. Factors influencing sales (such as marketing and readership trends) count. Analyzing books that reached number one nonetheless gives useful insights. We analysed every New York Times No. 1 since 1950 and compiled the following tips: (more…)
How characters grow and change, reach their goals or fail to, keeps us interested. In stories, character development is crucial: If all your characters stay unchanged, even through extreme circumstances, your novel will feel two-dimensional. Developing your characters makes them ring true. Here are 9 steps to creating satisfying character arcs: (more…)
Fleshing out characters with believable human qualities is an art. Indirect characterization is writing that paints in character detail by showing rather than telling. Rather than only tell readers about characters’ personalities and values, you can reveal them subtly through dialogue, actions and appearances. Read these tips and examples from books: (more…)
Clichéd story plots weaken an otherwise good story, a story where characters and settings are vivid. To tell a story that feels original and inventive, it’s key to learn plot clichés to avoid. Yet many original stories do use common tropes. The key is to make famous story types and scenarios your own: (more…)
From Anna Karenina to Jon Snow, Don Quixote to Harry Potter, famous characters from fiction worm their way under our skin. Here are lessons from several memorable characters in classic and modern novels: (more…)
