Your Twist Can Be Both Surprising and Inevitable
In their latest podcast, the Writing Excuses continue their discussion of the promises we make our readers with genre, structure, and beginnings. In this...
Peter Swanson: Give Weird Things Room to Grow
During an interview with CrimeReads, mystery writer Peter Swanson talks about his career and why he doesn't outline his novels. While he has a...
What’s in a Name?
It's doubtful that a great novel has ever been killed by a bad title, but a good title can still help you get noticed....
Ashes to Ashes…
The Victorian Book of the Dead site shares a number of stories about Victorian-era blackmail schemes involving the theft of a loved one's ashes....
Be Your Own Best Writing Coach
We love sharing the best of the web's writing advice on this blog, but we also believe that every writer should find their own...
What Does Your Story’s First Line Promise?
In their latest podcast, the Writing Excuses hosts continue their exploration of “promises as a structure” by looking at the promises made by the...
Is Your Conflict Working For or Against You?
A lot of writing advice starts with "Stories need conflict" but often ends there as well. Less attention is paid to creating the right...
Ben Winters: Old Enough and Good Enough to Dive Deeper in His Writing
During an interview with Lit Hub's I’m a Writer But...podcast, Ben Winters (The Last Policeman series, The Quiet Boy) talks about migrating away from...
How Many Languages Does Your Dog Speak?
A recent post on Live Science says that dogs can tell the difference between human languages, based on their familiarity with one or the...
You Can Convey Powerful Stories Without Words
If a picture says 1,000 words, then a 100 great images can tell a novel, right? In an article for Writer's Digest, writer and...