Are You Hep to Regency Lingo?
In a post on the Messy Nessy blog, Freya Bainbridge digs up some UK slang from the Regency Era (1795-1827), the period when King...
A Timely Refresher on Concise Writing
In a new post, Kristen Lamb offers good advice for ridding your work of unnecessary verbage, repetitive language, and writerly tics that annoy readers...
What are Miscellaneous Structures?
Concluding their series on non-traditional story structure, the Writing Excuses hosts and Peng Shepard talk about the alternatives they haven't already discussed, with the...
The Meaning of Red
Red: the color of blood, beauty, alarm, and love. In literature, a symbol, a metaphor, a motif. It's the color of lust, anger, guilt,...
When Your Hero Reflects
Writers delight in putting their characters through the wringer. Trials and tribulations test your hero's mettle and drive your narrative. But what happens after? In a...
What is Your Hero Getting from this Fight?
In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Emily Young offers advice for writing great action scenes. Her tips include:
Ask what your characters want. Consider...
Bring Your Readers Along on Your Hero’s Search
Outside experimental prose, it's safe to say all stories are about the search for something. Mysteries are the obvious example, but they cover only...
Hit Your Reader in the Funny Bone
In a post on the SFWA blog, Kathy Flann offers advice for injecting humor into your writing. "We think of humor as something that...
How Claire Stafford Wrote a Novel About a Character Who Resists...
During an interview with the DIY MFA podcast, Claire Stanford discusses her debut novel, Happy for You, a contemporary adult fiction novel grappling with tech,...
Can Your Hero Win the Battle with their Flaws?
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Jim Dempsey offers tips for using your hero's weaknesses against them. "Every hero has a flaw, and that is...
