We’ve all heard the adage, “Show, Don’t Tell.” It’s everywhere, a warning to writers that this is a rule that without a doubt can’t be broken. Right? Well, the reality is that it’s much more nuanced than that. If we showed everything that happened in a story, books would be thousands [...]
Growing up, I was taught that being ambitious meant hustling. In my mind, hustling became synonymous to working hard. Ambitious meant you wanted to achieve big goals and accomplish big things. So therefore, if I truly wanted to achieve all the goals I’ve set for myself, hustling was the only [...]
As this article is being written, there’s so much going on— and has been going on—in the world. Meta illegally scraping books for AI, the end of the ceasefire in Palestine, and everything happening in the U.S. with DOGE. And that’s not to mention what’s been going on in our personal [...]
Conflict and tension are two of those craft terms that get thrown around without much actual advice on what they are or how to create them. “Don’t forget to build conflict!” “You need lots of tension to keep readers hooked!” Cue me looking like this: 🤪🥴😤 This advice wasn’t wrong, but [...]
Writing a book is really difficult. It takes heart, energy, and lots of time. It's a process of personal creation that often takes deep courage to invite critique into, even when we know it's necessary. Often, when we're in the throes of a low moment of self doubt—whether it's because of [...]
With another year coming to a close, it is that time once again where our social media feeds peddle hustle-culture narratives driving us to set ambitious writing goals and lofty word counts.It can be overwhelming and draining.Often, the reason behind why people set goals stems from shame. We feel “I have [...]
Let’s play a game. Has this ever been you?. 👉🏻 felt guilty or anxious for taking a day (or week or month) off writing? 👉🏻 felt ashamed or worries what people would think if I had to push back a deadline? 👉🏻 pushed your body or brain to the limit [...]
As writers, we have to make choices constantly. From the big picture planning of what to include in a plot or character arc, to the pacing of chapters and scenes, all the way down to every word we write. Most of these choices (especially the smaller ones) are usually made with [...]
We’re told that perfectionism is a good thing. We’re told it’s a trait to brag about when we’re in a job interview to showcase just how hardworking and detail-oriented we are. We’ve been conditioned to believe that being a perfectionist equals success—and that all of our idols have gotten where they [...]
Burnout sucks. It’s an unrelenting exhaustion that has you feeling completely zapped of energy. Your creativity, which has been running on fumes for miles, has officially petered out in the middle of nowhere. You can hardly think about writing, much less get any words down. At this moment, it may feel [...]
Great scenes build an exhilarating push and pull between a story’s plot and characters. Plot events drive characters to make choices, and their choices in turn shape future plot events. This wave of tension locks in readers, compelling them to read chapter after chapter. With the 15 key elements in this guide, you can claim this page-turning power as your own! We’ve included two analyzed, annotated scenes to show you how it all works.
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