fiction writing

Rewrite Your Novel: 3 Powerful Steps To Turn A Mess Into A Book

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It’s time to rewrite your novel. In a recent writers’ group meeting, we discussed the benefits and perils of rewriting. Many authors enjoy their rewrites, because the hard work is done. They know they have a story, they just need shape it into the perfect reader-worthy novel for their genre. That said, rewriting can be … Read more

3 Quick Tips For Suspenseful Fiction: Invoke Readers’ Imagination

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Last year, several of our writers’ group gatherings focused on writing suspenseful fiction. A member triggered this topic when she complained about feeling tired all day: “I stayed up until 2:30 this morning, finishing a novel. I thought why? Then I started wondering how I could write like that.” When we discussed books which hooked … Read more

Writing Fiction: Plot Your Big Scenes First To Make Plotting Easier

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If you’re writing fiction, you’ll struggle with translating the story in your head onto the page. Use scenes to make this process easier. You may be wondering… What’s a scene? In brief, a scene is action, which happens in real time, on the page. A scene is showing the reader, rather than telling him. Much … Read more

Write Fiction With Obsidian: Track Characters, Places, And Your Plot

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Do you write fiction? If you do, you know that there are 1001 (and more) things you need to remember. Not only character names, but their personalities, their histories, and how they fit into your plot. Or how they create your plot. Over the years, I’ve used software and various writing apps to track all … Read more

Writing Fiction: Pitfalls And Tips For Naming Your Characters

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Do you enjoy finding names for your characters when you’re writing fiction? Many authors don’t. Moreover, naming your characters has pitfalls. In one writers’ group meeting, an author told us about her cousin, who also writes fiction. They were chatting about character names. The cousin admitted that she’d never bothered checking her names with Google … Read more

Want To Write A Novel? These Tips May Help If You’re Stressed

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With NaNoWriMo on the horizon, and coming up fast, you’re remembering your dream: to write a novel. Last month our group discussed NaNoWriMo and stress. Our writers’ group includes authors who’ve been traditionally published, as well as self-publishing authors. It also includes aspiring authors who want to write, and would, if the whole idea of … Read more