Now Novel
‘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 off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.’
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.
It’s a mystery why we so often resist doing the very things that we most want to be doing. 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 the first place? Here are some ways to make sure you keep your promise to write:
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. Here are tips on using posture to bring out what makes each of your fictional characters uniquely interesting:
Learning how to create a fantasy world that feels real to readers is easy when you follow these five steps:
Your fantasy world must be grounded in a history and abide by certain rules in order to persuade your readers to suspend their disbelief when you bring in magic, fantastical beasts and other implausible elements.
Why is writing a book a dream for so many people, and so satisfying for others? There are a number of reasons…
Writing memoir often means writing about family and other real people. Lamott’s honesty and self-deprecating humour are instructive to any writer interested in tackling the memoir form. Here are three things you can learn about writing memoir from Lamott:
Turning notes into a novel, a publishable manuscript, can seem daunting. Despite this, the tips below will help you develop your notes into a book.
