Children's and middle grade stories have all the same elements of longer, more complicated novels, but in a condensed format. As writers, we can benefit from studying the way they're structured. Keeping stories short and simple is a bigger feat than you'd think. This month, we're THRILLED to welcome our [...]
February #WritersRead Book Club Chat: Thursday, February 27th @ 7pm EST On Twitter & Instagram Details on how to join here! For the #WritersRead book club this month, we read in the theme 'a book set in the future.' Through these stories, we imagine the future, [...]
Start with cultural values + environment. One of the reasons we read fantasy and science fiction is to experience new cultures and world views. We crave interesting governments, bizarre moral codes, and unique rituals. We’re fascinated by how these cultures survive in environments that are foreign to us—huge [...]
I just finished up my most productive month of writing ever. I set a goal to finish a draft of the project I’m currently working on, and while I didn’t meet my goal, I spent over 80 hours writing and wrote over 50k. Despite falling short, I consider [...]
Good dialogue often goes unnoticed. When it’s crafted well, a story continues to flow forward, uninterrupted, as you learn more about the characters and the conflict at hand. Bad dialogue, on the other hand, is often jarring, boring or both. It tears the reader from the story as [...]
Science fiction and futuristic novels allow us to examine, collaboratively, the question of: What If? Through these stories, we imagine the future, armed with what we know about ourselves now (the good and the bad). We imagine the consequences of making, or not making, certain decisions. We picture how the [...]
January #WritersRead Book Club Chat: Thursday, January 30th @ 7pm EST On Twitter & Instagram Details on how to join here! For the #WritersRead book club this month, we read in the theme 'something in a genre you never read.' As writers, it's important we read [...]
When we lose ourselves in novels, it’s as much due to the author’s deft weaving of descriptions as it is the story itself. Descriptions are what bring a story to life. When I close my eyes, I can still see and smell the beach where Kya lives in [...]
This post/page contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Golden May will only ever recommend products or services that we fully stand behind! Thanks for your support. As humans, we use our own past experiences to make sense [...]
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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