A few weeks ago my entire family had COVID and I ended up spending a lot of time on the sofa watching movies. I definitely would have liked to spend my time a little differently, but I still ended up learning a lot when I watched those movies with a critical eye. Although I write […]
Beginning a story the right way Read More »
Because I’ve always been making up stories in my head, I’ve kind of taken my imagination and all my ideas for granted. But I noticed a lot of people are googling for story ideas, and I figured I should use my skills for good and help these people. I’ve used the genres in Save the
Unique story ideas from Save the Cat genres Read More »
Since you’re reading a blog about writing fiction, I bet you’ve been blessed with more story ideas than you know what to do with. Or perhaps you have ONE big story idea that you can’t stop thinking about. Or both! But how do you know what’s the right story idea for you? Regardless of what
How do you know your story idea is THE ONE? Read More »
Making your settings tangible is an important part of writing great stories, but doing that is easier said than done. Here are some things to avoid, some quick tips for writing descriptions well and a few helpful exercises for describing places in your writing. For more help with your settings and descriptions, I’ve also written
Quick tips for describing places in your stories Read More »
This post tells you how to write your first book when you already have some experience in writing stories. If you’re a complete beginner writer, you should start from part 1: Easy ways to start writing a book with no experience If you’re writing a book for the first time, you probably have more questions
Writing a book for the first time? Follow these simple steps (Part 2) Read More »
Different subscription boxes are getting increasingly popular and it’s easy to find a unique box for pretty much any type of person. You like coffee? There’s a box for that. Spicy food? They’ve got you covered. You want to learn a new crafty skill each month? There are more boxes for you than I can
The best subscription boxes for writers in 2026 Read More »
If you’re not sure how to start writing after you get a story idea, you’re probably here looking for answers rather than questions. Yet asking the right plot questions will help you grow a single idea into a complete story. Every element of a story, whether it’s a character, a setting or just a certain
Plot questions that help you grow your story idea Read More »
There’s a lot of agony over writing the first draft, and even more over reading it. But what’s the real purpose of the first draft of your story and what does it need to accomplish? What are the best tips for writing a good first draft? You may have heard that the first draft is
4 reasons why you’re writing the first draft Read More »
Learning to write great stories is a process, and a part of that process is making mistakes that you can learn from later on. Or, if you’re lucky, someone else has already made the mistakes and they show you how you can avoid them yourself. If you’ve already made some of these common beginner writer
Beginner writer mistakes I made (so you don’t have to) Read More »
If you’re still struggling to figure out what your story is about, I’ve got some great news for you: just flesh out your hero and everything else will fall into place. Okay, you still have to figure out what that “everything else” is, but the fact is that none of that will matter if there
How to write a story that works: Start with your character Read More »