Skip to content
Protagonist Crafts by Katri Soikkeli
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Writing 101
  • Plot your novel
  • About
  • Contact
  • Log in
Protagonist Crafts by Katri Soikkeli
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Writing 101
  • Plot your novel
  • About
  • Contact
  • Log in

How to avoid the mushy middle of your story

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

Some writers really struggle to write the middle of their stories, but a boring or “mushy” middle is not something that just happens to stories, it shows a lack of planning and lack of plotting. But how do you avoid a mushy middle, or fix it if you’re already deep in the marshes of it? […]

How to avoid the mushy middle of your story Read More »

A writer’s morning routine ideas

Leave a Comment / writer life / By Katri Soikkeli

What kind of a morning routine should a writer have? Not everyone has the time for elaborate morning routines, at least not every day, but when you’ve got the chance to start your day more intentionally, here are some ideas that you can use. They should prepare you for your daily writing sessions and help

A writer’s morning routine ideas Read More »

How to describe places in your writing

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

Everyone knows your story needs to take place somewhere, right? Your characters can’t just float in a vacuum, and being so vague about your setting that your readers can’t even begin to imagine it would be a pretty bad idea. But how, exactly, do you describe settings in your writing? To be exact, a setting

How to describe places in your writing Read More »

How to write about places you’ve never been in

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

How do you write about a thick, dark forest if you’ve never been in a thick, dark forest? About London if you’ve never been to London? In this post, we’re going to talk about how to write about places you’ve never been in, and how to make those places feel real instead of embarrassing yourself with

How to write about places you’ve never been in Read More »

How to create conflict in a novel

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

Creating conflict in your story is no small task, but you probably shouldn’t pull it out of your hat without thinking what actually belongs in your story. In this post, we’re going to talk about what conflict and how you can insert it into your story without making your readers go “So what?” Related posts:

How to create conflict in a novel Read More »

Should you use a character profile template for your novel?

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

Character profile templates and information sheets are popular, but are they actually helpful? Should you use them when writing your novel? In this post, I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of using these writer tools and about where you can find good ones. The context for all of my posts is that

Should you use a character profile template for your novel? Read More »

Spring activities for writers

Leave a Comment / writing inspiration / By Katri Soikkeli

Though spring is a fine season for outdoors adventures, you don’t have to abandon your writing completely. If you want to keep writing, improve your skills and make progress, try these spring activities for writers to stay consistent and enjoy writing your stories. Related reading: How to use seasons in your writing – Summer story

Spring activities for writers Read More »

Affirmations for writers

Leave a Comment / writer life / By Katri Soikkeli

Being a writer is not always fun and easy, and you might not always have a group of bookish cheerleaders encouraging you to keep going. What you could have, though, is affirmations for writers, and that’s exactly what you’re getting in this post. You’re welcome. Because I’m here to help and not just to cheer

Affirmations for writers Read More »

How to stop cringing at your writing

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

I’m sure you’ve been there before: You read your writing… and you cringe. You want to hide. You consider quitting writing completely. Stop right there! I’m here to fix that problem for you. So if you’ve ever cringed at your own writing and would like to stop doing that, you’ll want to keep reading. Related

How to stop cringing at your writing Read More »

Got characters but no plot? Do this

Leave a Comment / craft of writing / By Katri Soikkeli

We can’t typically choose how inspiration finds us. Sometimes we’ve got a great plot idea and sometimes all we get to start with is a character or perhaps some kind of a vague vibe. Since I’ve already talked about turning those vibes into a plot, in this post, you’ll find out how to give your

Got characters but no plot? Do this Read More »

1 2 … 13 Next →

Recent Posts

  • How to avoid the mushy middle of your story
  • A writer’s morning routine ideas
  • How to describe places in your writing
  • How to write about places you’ve never been in
  • How to create conflict in a novel

Categories

  • bookish stuff
  • craft of writing
  • writer life
  • writing inspiration

Copyright © 2026 Protagonist Crafts by Katri Soikkeli

  • Read our blog
  • Start your novel FREE course
  • Genius Plotting System
  • Log in to your courses
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Disclaimers
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT