Improve Your Stories By Eliminating Agendas
By Joshua Isard
The agendas with which you approach your story might be holding the narrative back.
Storyville: Reading Broadly to Write Better
In:
Research
In order to write deep, layered, original fiction you MUST read broadly.
Tackling the Dreaded Rewrite
By Repo Kempt
In:
Rewriting
Here's five hard questions you need to ask yourself before tackling the dreaded rewrite.
Dirty Little Secrets, Part Three: Why the Agent Requested—and Then Rejected—the Full
Good news: The agent requested the full! Bad news: The agent said, “Thanks but no thanks.”
Dirty Little Secrets, Part Two: Why Your Beta Readers Never Finished Your Novel
In:
Character
You worked hard on that book, and your beta readers never even finished the damn thing. Why?
Dirty Little Secrets, Part One: Why No One Cares About Your Protagonist
In:
Character
Many an agent has rejected a novel with the phrase, “I’m just not in love with this protagonist.”
5 Unconventional Methods of Writing a Story
Instead of surrendering to writer's block, give these ideas a try.
10 Must-Know Tips For Outlining Your Novel
If you're struggling to get your novel off of the ground, an outline can potentially rescue you from all of your toils.
Narrative Detour: Rediscover Your Novel
By BH Shepherd
A fun exercise to help you push forward when writing your novel becomes a slog.
Instead of Joining a Book Club This Year, Subscribe To a Literary Podcast
In:
Research
Make it your New Year's Resolution to find and read more books through the literary world's secret weapon: podcasts.
Storyville: Method Writing
What is method writing, and how can it help breathe authenticity into your work?
Dialogue: The Number One Mistake Newbie Writers Make
There's no lack of online advice about how to write dialogue in fiction. But there’s one issue I see over and over in the dialogue of newbie writers, and I have yet to find one post that tackles it.
Storyville: What the 'Best Horror of the Year' Anthology Can Teach Us
In:
Research
There is a lot we, as authors, can learn by reading the Best Horror of the Year anthology.
Clarity vs. Experimentation: A Letter To Myself
By Peter Derk
Does your work have a worthwhile story underneath the experiment? In other words, are you going to pay off the work a reader does to understand what’s going on?
Feedback Loop: Revisiting Autobiographical Fiction
In:
Literary Devices
In which Taylor revisits her 2012 article about autobiographical fiction and nearly twists herself into a knot trying to explain what the hell she actually meant, if anything...
Storyville: Finding Hope in Dark Fiction
In:
Theme
It's possible to put hope in your dark fiction, quite possibly leading to a more satisfying experience.
Why You Shouldn't Ignore Religion in Your Fiction
Religion is a huge part of life. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn't ignore it in your fiction.
Good Oral: Telling Stories Out Loud
By Peter Derk
In:
Live Reading
Read this before you jump on a stage and launch into your best story.
Three Exercises for Improved Character Development
If you want your characters to be as deep and nuanced as your narrative, here are three things you can do.
Engage Your Readers By Putting Them To Work
By Joshua Isard
As writers, then, we want to ask our readers to do the right kind of work, the kind that helps them engage with our stories as much as possible.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Noah Webster, the Inventor of American English
In:
Grammar
Happy 260th Birthday to the man whose name is synonymous with “Go Look It Up!” (Which is the pre-cursor to today’s “Google It!”)
Is Crosstalk Killing Your Feedback?
By Peter Derk
In:
Workshop
What is crosstalk, and how is it ruining your workshop?
7 Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo Right Now
In:
Character
Want to write a novel but don't know where to start? NaNoWriMo 2018 might be the perfect opportunity — here's 7 ways you can prepare for it now.
Analyzing the Three-Act Structure in Tolkien's 'Fellowship of the Ring'
In:
Structure
To celebrate the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring on July 29, 1954, we’re looking at how Tolkien used an enduring story structure to create an enduring trilogy.
Folding Real-Life Detail into a Fictional Narrative
In:
Character
Is there an ethical line when it comes to incorporating real-life details into fiction? And if so, where does that line exist?
