7 Ways to Let Your Supporting Cast Shine (But Not Too Brightly)
In a guest post on Well-Storied, writer Cady Hammer shares how she developed the secondary characters in her fantasy novel Chasing War. Hammer suggests...
Paula Hawkins: Mysteries Can Be More Than Black and White
Some of our favorite novels have ambiguous endings, or fail to wrap up events in the tidiest manner. Tana French's debut novel, In the...
Of Course, I Didn’t Listen
During an interview with the Write the Book podcast, author Gary Miller (There's No Way to Do It Wrong!: How to Get Young Learners...
To Angst or Not to Angst?
In the newest edition of their podcast, the Writing Excuses hosts examine the fourth element of the M.I.C.E. (Milieu, Idea, Character, and Event) Quotient:...
The Rules of Magic Realism
A headline on Electric Lit promises a "master class on magic realism" and the lengthy article by Marie-Helene Bertino delivers. Bertino eschews definitions and...
Don’t Send Your Readers Up the Down Staircase
Outside the Harry Potter novels, writers need to avoid creating rooms and buildings with interiors that couldn't possibly exist. In a post on Writer...
How to Use Plot Twists to Keep Readers Guessing
You don't need to write mystery novels or thrillers to leverage a good old-fashioned plot twist to throw your characters and readers off-course. And...
Candles Are Not the Answer to Writing Burnout (But Dogs Might Be…)
In an article for the Script Lab, Kathleen Laccinole offers advice on what to do when you feel burned out by your writing. "Writer’s burnout...
Does Your Character Have to Choose to Play by the Rules?
Discussing another example of the "hand in your badge and gun" moment that is pivotal to stories following the "hero's journey" path, Steven Pressfield...
Early Planning Stops Story Problems Later
As always, we begin with our usual kvetching about applying too much prefab structure or - god forbid - percentages to your novel. If...
