Writers often strive to make dialogue sound real. But the truth is that realistic dialogue (aka, dialogue you hear at the coffee shop, or you engage in with a friend) is pretty roundabout, usually lacks purpose, and is often repetitive. As humans who have conversations all the time, we have an [...]
As writers, we can clearly see our own story in our minds-eye, and it can be so intimidating to write descriptions because we want our readers to see it as we do. But that’s not reeeeaaally possible. Sure, we have adages that are supposed to help, like “show, don’t tell,” [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We've all heard the 'rule': Exposition is 'good' but Infodumping is 'bad'. But wtf does that actually mean? What is the difference? Truth is, these two things are very similar. Paragraphs (or even pages) of exposition and infodumps do the SAME thing: they convey information to the reader. The difference [...]
As writers, we yearn for our readers to feel while reading our words. We want to move them to happiness, sadness, anger, and everything in between. The problem is... Nothing we write can force anyone feel anything. As much as we wish we could, all we have to work with is [...]
Readers want to feel what characters feel. In fact, brain science tells us that what draws readers into stories is a sense of emotional connection with the characters. This is the key that allows these readers to experience your story as if they were in it. It’s a writer’s job to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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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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