12 Questions to Ask Your Character to Bring Setting to Life
Too often, writers ignore setting. Look—we live in the physical world. We respond to and interact with every single setting…
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How Fiction Writers Can Use Sensory Detail to Set Mood
Vivid sensory detail is what brings stories to life. Sadly, many writers ignore sensory detail, for the most part. They’ll…
Strategies for Novelists Who Are Writing a Series
I’m reposting this article from some years back, as many fiction writers plan a series but often don’t know the…
The Punch at the End of Your Novel Scenes
I’m sure you’ve heard people tell jokes. Whether you’ve listened to stand-up comics on a stage who are masters at…
How Novelists Can Go Deep and Wide with Plot
Novelists focus heavily on plot, and rightly they should. Your novel needs a well-crafted and believable plot. A good story…
Controlling the Element of Time in Your Novel
Time is a slippery thing. And because of that, it poses an intriguing challenge for fiction writers. We need to…
Writing Scenes with a Purpose
I know this may sound silly and obvious, but your scenes need to have a purpose. Thing is, so many…
The Secret to Writing Commercially Successful Novels
I’ve been writing novels for more than three decades, and while I have learned a lot about how unpredictable the…
The 5 Turning Points in Your Novel
Almost every great story has five turning points. Movie, play, novel—regardless of genre. Traditional story structure goes way back to…
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