If you're a writer struggling to improve your craft, this book can help. It breaks down the basics of a good story and good writing. It'll also provide a few tips on how to stay motivated. There's no magical formula for instantly likable stories, but you can lay a strong foundation for a future full of writing that fulfills you. Success starts in your head.
A blend of helpful tips and chicken soup for your writer soul. Updated on Fridays, unless I have no material or am on vacation.
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- 1. Be Realistic
- 2. Write What You Enjoy
- 3. Find Inspiration
- 4. Create Relatable Characters
- 5. Be Authentic (plus Sensitivity Readers)
- 6. Add Tension
- 7. Read Other Books
- 8. Get Critiques
- 9. Practice Your Craft
- 10. Maintain Motivation
- 11. Deal With Fear
- 12. Demonstrate, Don't Explain
- 13. Tailor Your Descriptions
- 14. Recognize Can't Versus Won't
- 15. Ease Up On Backstory (and Prologues)
- 16. Kick Writer's Block
- 17. Create Interesting Dialogue
- 18. Beat Back Self-Doubt
- 19. Use Strong Verbs
- 20. Intermission
- 21. Carve Out Time
- 22. Streamline Your Sentences
- 23. Give Your Character a Journey
- 24. Read Big Magic
- 25. Avoid the Info-Dump
- 26. Break Stereotypes
- 27. Plan Your Story
- 28. Intermission 2
- 29. Manage Your Expectations
- 30. Find Your Voice - Part 1
- 31. Find Your Voice - Part 2
- 32. Rework the Beginning
- 33. Develop Your Characters
- 34. Shameless Plug
- 35. Continue Kicking Writers Block
- 36. Create Active Characters
- 37. Avoid Predictability
- Questions?
- Question 1: Writing outside the box
- Question 2: Writing short stories
- Question 3: Plot twists
- Question 4: Keeping your story on target
- Question 5: Writing a series
- Question 6: Foreshadowing
- Question 7: Writing faster and routines
- Question 8: Pushing through to the end
- Question 9: Seamlessly weaving in backstory
- Question 10: Too many story ideas
- Question 11: How to write a blurb
- Question 12: Connecting scenes
- Question 13: Creating original characters
- Question 14: Descriptive writing
- Question 15: When to start posting a story
- Question 16: Determining chapter breaks
- Question 17: Breaking cliches
- Question 18: How to end a book
- Question 19: Alternate universes
- Question 20: Staying in character
- Question 21: Narrating dialogue
- Question 22: Conveying emotion
- Question 23: Changing viewpoints
- Question 24: Avoiding cardboard characters
- Question 25: Fight scenes
- Question 26: Filter words
- Question 27: Flashbacks
- Question 28: Writing about feelings you've never felt
- Question 29: Avoiding the "Mary Sue"
- Question 30: Making readers cry
- Question 31: Avoiding a rushed plot
- Question 32: Deus Ex Machina
- Question 33: Making chapters longer
- Question 34: Unhappy endings
- Question 35: Introducing characters
- Question 36: Dialogue with deaf characters
- Question 37: Phone conversations
- Question 38: Not sounding forced
- Question 39: Avoiding repetition
- Question 40: Fixing awkward scenes
- Question 41: Chapter length
- Question 42: Text messages
- Question 43: Writing uncomfortable scenes
- Question 44: Romantic scenes
- Question 45: Dream sequences
- Question 46: Humor
- Question 47: Dialogue arguments
- Intermission
- Question 48: Sex scenes
- Question 49: Emotions through eyes
- Question 50: Stuttering characters
- Question 51: Switching POV across a series
- Question 52: Believable romance
- Question 53: Car accidents
- Question 54: Unexpected love
- Question 55: Vivid visions
- Question 56: Mixing in other languages and culture
- Question 57: Breakups
- Question 58: First person character descriptions
- Question 59: Character deaths
- Question 60: Writing from an unfamiliar POV
- Question 61: Kissing scenes
- Question 62: Nostalgic stories
- Question 63: Dialogue from the Middle Ages
- Question 64: Sensitive topics
- Question 65: Writing pain
- Question 66: Too much plot
- Question 67: Characters with low self-esteem
- Question 68: Is my story too long?
- Question 69: Turning random ideas into a story
- Question 70: Opening lines
- Question 71: Accents
- Question 72: Meet cutes
- Question 73: Cliffhangers
- Question 74: Avoiding melodrama
- Question 75: Subplots
- Question 76: How to edit
- Question 77: Dealing with numerous characters
- Question 78: Character names