Improve Your Writing

Brooke McIntyre of Inked Voices explains what to look for in a critique group and how to find the best writing critique group for you.

Prologues get a bad rap as backstory or info dumps but, done well, they can intrigue readers and ignite interest in the story to come.

Life coaches help clients gain insights about how we shape our own life stories, and the same tools can be used to create richer characters.

In storytelling, voice can refer to three different elements: character voice, narrative voice, and author voice—and they can often overlap.

While many 19th century novels have fallen by the wayside, Austen’s continual appeal may be understood in the way she built her plots.

Food is a powerful storytelling element that can help develop characters, and a great tool for putting ‘show, don’t tell’ into practice.

If the manuscript you once felt passionate about has fallen silent, here’s why this may be happening and how to gently find your way back.

A writer wishing to bear witness and breathe new life into her family’s stories compares how three authors blended memoir with fiction.

Whether you choose a real or fictional location, the more detail and depth you can infuse into your setting, the better you’ll draw readers into your story.

The more clearly you develop and articulate antagonism in your story, the more your protagonist’s struggle and victory will shine.

While many memoirs’ stories are personal, others are social or political—and the best succeed by making readers feel what the author felt.

The stories we carry from our families may seem ordinary, but fictionalizing them can honor our roots and keep them alive for future generations.

Books might be marketed as fiction, but it’s the truth and possibility thereof that intrigues us and offers understanding and connection.

A hazard of writing for young readers is the temptation to craft stories with a lesson, when more richness might result from finding your theme.

Since villains usually consider themselves heroes, they can also go through the same stages heroes do—with some important variations.

A sci-fi writer explores how AI can help keep her scenarios grounded in reality and maintain a story bible for world-building consistency.

Knowing which facet most drives the story you want to tell can help you determine next steps and avoid the most common manuscript missteps.

Emerging writers often focus on plot and action—both essential!—but the true pulse of horror comes from what festers just beneath the surface.

Tips from a career editor on how the type of POV you choose affects the way you give readers access to your characters’ thoughts and feelings.

Understanding what holds your characters back from loving or being loved fully will equip you to write a romance with a compelling arc.

One author learns that putting boundaries—such as genre expectations—around creativity can actually stimulate it rather than inhibit it.

Embrace the fact that creation is never truly finished—it’s simply released at a point where it can begin its life in the world.

One author finds that using digital tools to create a visual story grid is the trick he needs to crystallize his ideas and never miss a beat.

What draws readers into your story is the mystery of how you achieved your transformation, so reflection must be handled carefully.

No matter what story we read, we bring ourselves with it. That’s why sensitivity should be the forethought, not an afterthought, in our world-building.