Guest post by Tami Nantz There’s no way around it: If you want to write a story that pulls in readers, you must include compelling characters. They need to feel: Believable Mysterious Relatable But that’s difficult to pull off—one reason most stories are unpublishable. Maybe you’re feeling this tension right now. Maybe you’ve created a […]
Read MoreDon’t you find it ironic when you hear of an umpire cheating? Or a fire station burning? Irony is simply the contrast between two seemingly incongruous facts. But irony is often misidentified. Readers and writers might describe a scene or a bit of dialogue as ironic when really it’s not. Irony highlights the difference between […]
Read MoreYour greatest challenge as a writer is to keep readers engaged. Your job is to keep them with you page after page to find out what happens. Inject tension into your work to enthrall readers. What is Tension in Writing? Tension is anything in your manuscript—fiction or nonfiction—that causes readers to anticipate. Anticipate what? Literally […]
Read MoreWhat is Third-Person Point of View? Do you wonder, as so many budding writers do, how to master Point of View? Third-person point of view is most common in storytelling—and with good reason. While first-person may be the easiest POV for readers to understand, because that makes it easier to avoid head hopping, third-person is […]
Read MoreGuest post by K.M. Weiland “Cut this scene. It doesn’t move the plot.” That is my most frequent comment on manuscripts I edit for others. It causes most writers to groan. Not only am I telling you to cut your beloved scenes (perhaps even your favorite), but you’re left to figure out why these scenes […]
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