This article is by Alanna J. Jordan. As a fiction author, archetypes can be a powerful tool in your writing arsenal. Archetypal characters draw upon the human psyche, enabling you to write characters who are instantly recognizable. But as with any other tool, archetypes can be overused or badly bungled. Here is some advice on … Read more
I had a problem. Readers sometimes enjoyed my short stories, giving high praise for stories I wrote in a day. Unfortunately, the novels I lovingly crafted for a year or more failed to impress anyone. No matter how I experimented, I couldn’t write a compelling novel, and was getting frustrated over the continuous lack of … Read more
This article is by S.C. Sharman. Writing a book is not enough. You have to have an audience eager to buy the books that you write. One way to do this is by building your own author brand. Here are five good ways to make this happen. Tip 1: Use Word of Mouth At the … Read more
The best images and the strongest impressions we get from stories are those we create in our own minds. No matter how well I describe something, my reader’s impression will never be exactly the same as mine. As a writer, I’ve chosen to embrace this. Rather than sweating about making my descriptions as correct and … Read more
We hear a lot of popular advice on writing forums and in craft books. At the top of the list, along with “show, don’t tell” and “write what you know” is “make it worse.” While any of these bits of advice are great to explore, I am here today to talk specifically about making things … Read more
This article is by Frank Cavallo. A few years ago I published my first novel. Nothing major, it garnered a small advance, with a relatively small print run at an up-and-coming indie press. Hardly JK Rowling territory, but as I’m sure all of us can relate, it was something I’d been trying to do for … Read more
This article is by Jaiden M. Pierson. As an author, one of the hardest tasks you must undertake is to put everything that is needed into a story, without putting any more than is needed. Your readers have to put a lot more time and energy into your book than they would into a movie … Read more
In the battle between good and terrible storytelling, we look for personal conflicts with complex characters. Yet one trope gives our villain vague power and simple goals. It promises our readers a straightforward fight against the forces of evil. There’s one trope that just wants to rule them all. So let’s reboot the Dark Lord. … Read more