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This is the one area that writers have the most trouble with. But it doesn’t have to be. Professional writers struggle with it. Amateurs struggle with it. In this post, we’re going to unpack the tools you need to write a powerful theme in your novel. There’s good news—you can do it without really trying! … Read more

There’s a wealth of advice in the writing world about improving your story. How to write realistic characters, gripping conflict, dynamic plot. There are endless ways to keep readers hooked until the very last page. It’s plainly time for a change of pace. (You may find nuggets of wisdom poking out in bold here and … Read more

Crying over your own character for the first time is an odd, but wonderful, experience. You know it has to be a good thing: if you’re crying, your reader probably is, too. But if you have never experienced this, don’t worry. I have good news: If you’ve ever felt emotionally moved by a book, a … Read more

Crafting a well-written, tight scene that keeps your reader hooked can be tricky. Each chapter should push the story forward: developing the characters, increasing suspense, and most of all, forcing the reader to turn the page. But what do you do if your scenes feel weak or flat? One way is to ask a simple … Read more

I’ve had to learn to be okay with seeking inspiration. Especially when faced with a deadline. Inspiration doesn’t just float down from the sky, and it’s not an endless river. If my creativity tank runs dry on a creative project, my first instinct is to take a break. That’s basically how procrastination works. But deadlines … Read more

Sometimes our weaknesses are just signposts, trying to point us to something else. The most talented, thought-provoking, game changing people are never normal. — Richard Branson Sometimes creativity is an obvious trait, like blue eyes. All you have to do is look at the kid playing dress-up for hours in front of a mirror to … Read more

What if I told you that you could write a full-length novel and 52 weeks of blog posts in just one year—and it doesn’t require locking yourself in a cabin somewhere in the woods, shackled to a typewriter? Well, it’s not only possible; it’s shockingly easy. And you can do it without writing on the … Read more

What you write isn’t important. Not compared to WHY you write. There are thousands of thinly-sliced trees adorning the bookshelves of bookstores. Letters are arranged on them, stories are told through them, but nobody knows their titles or remembers their plots. They have solid structure, fleshed-out characters, good plot, and absolutely no point. Forgettable fiction. … Read more

“…. I soon came to feel that teaching these sensitive young souls Latin and mathematics was cheating them of something far more essential — what they needed wasn’t dry information but hope, the kind that comes from being transported into a dream-world of possibility.” — Helen Fagin  Writers are the most influential people in the … Read more

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Carson Camaratz, ordinary teen, as he continues to do his homework, play video games, hang out with other ordinary teens, and gets reminded to do his laundry! Writing a novel with a teenager as the protagonist presents an obvious difficulty. How do you get a teenager involved in … Read more