The Burden of Your First Five Pages
Noah Lukeman, in his book The First Five Pages (published in 2000), says “Over the years I’ve read thousands of…
Show, Don’t Tell—But How?
This is an excerpt from Shoot Your Novel, the book that teaches fiction writers how to use cinematic technique in…
The Writing Life: Discipline and Challenges
Writing demands more than just a flair for words; it requires discipline, commitment, and resilience. While many envision the life…
Advancing Your Plot
I tell writers often they are failing to “advance their plot.” What does that mean, and why does it matter?…
In Search of the Well-Crafted Sentence
View Post Every writer should spend time learning the tools of his trade. We use words, and we use them…
The Power of White Space on the Page
One of the writers of our book The 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing, Christy Distler, shares this brief story…
Watch Out for Pesky Adverbs and “Weasel Words”
If you’ve been writing fiction for a while, you’ve probably heard editors or other writers insist that adverbs and overused…
Tips to Turn Sketchy Writing into Robust Prose
Writers are hounded with the admonition to “show, don’t tell,” which is not easily done well. Showing requires learning masterful…
How to Turn Good Dialogue into Great Dialogue
We fiction writers want to write terrific dialogue. After all, dialogue is the “make or break” element in a story….