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Using a Character’s Personality Traits to Generate Conflict

When it comes to generating conflict, your character’s personality can help ensure that sparks fly, especially when their traits clash with someone else’s. When people grate on one another their interactions become filled with misunderstandings, power struggles, one-upmanship, and impatience. … [Read more...] about Using a Character’s Personality Traits to Generate Conflict

Five Ways to Get Your Protagonist to Realize They’re the Problem

We’ve all heard the writing advice that we need to throw rocks at our protagonists. More obstacles, more tough choices, and more loss test them and force them to grow and change. This is all true and necessary. But one of those most overlooked forms of safeguarding our protagonists is by making … [Read more...] about Five Ways to Get Your Protagonist to Realize They’re the Problem

Character Secret Thesaurus: Fleeing a Crime Scene

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden? This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, … [Read more...] about Character Secret Thesaurus: Fleeing a Crime Scene

I Tried a BookBub Featured Deal—Here’s What Happened

I’d always heard that landing a Bookbub deal could really help with marketing your book. I'd tried a couple of times before with no luck. But recently, I submitted my historical fantasy, The Curse of King Midas, and was selected for a BookBub Featured Deal. But there was a catch—it wasn’t for … [Read more...] about I Tried a BookBub Featured Deal—Here’s What Happened

How to Use Writing Prompts to “Unstick” Writer’s Block

By Savannah Cordova Stop me if you’ve heard this one: you’re at your desk, laptop or notebook open, hours stretching out before you… but you can’t seem to get the words down. You feel stuck, hopeless, and incapable of moving forward; in other words, you’ve got writer’s block. Luckily, there … [Read more...] about How to Use Writing Prompts to “Unstick” Writer’s Block

Character Secret Thesaurus: Being an Anonymous Financial Donor

Writing 101: Avoiding the Most Common Dialogue Mechanics Mistakes

Strong dialogue isn’t just about the words being said—it’s also about how those words are presented on the page. If you’re newer to writing, there’s a lot to learn about storytelling—from big-picture techniques like show-don’t-tell to the more foundational aspects surrounding punctuation and … [Read more...] about Writing 101: Avoiding the Most Common Dialogue Mechanics Mistakes

How to Use Show, Don’t Tell to Strengthen Your Story

Writers hear it all the time: Show, don’t tell. This advice is so iconic that I wouldn’t be surprised if a few tattoos are kicking around the community. After all, our job as writers isn’t to explain what’s happening to readers, it’s to help them experience the story themselves. And show, don’t tell … [Read more...] about How to Use Show, Don’t Tell to Strengthen Your Story

Secret Thesaurus: Withholding Help from Someone in Need

Phenomenal First Pages Contest

Hey, wonderfulwriterly people! It’s time for Phenomenal First Pages, our monthly critique contest. So, if you need a bit of help with your first page, today's the day to enter for a chance to win professional feedback! (We've had past winners tell us they've found their dream editors through … [Read more...] about Phenomenal First Pages Contest

How To Write A Likeable Character

Likeable characters can become the beating heart of your narrative. Readers root for them and stick with them throughout their journeys. But what exactly makes a character likeable? It’s not just about being nice but making them relatable. So, let's look at how to write such … [Read more...] about How To Write A Likeable Character