
Is Your Story Idea Worth Writing About?
Every story begins with an idea. The idea may come to you while listening to a song, driving a car, or reading a newspaper. You

Every story begins with an idea. The idea may come to you while listening to a song, driving a car, or reading a newspaper. You

Are you looking to publish a book? Let me tell you how to get it done. Today, there are two paths to publishing: traditional publishing

You probably wouldn’t sink a million dollars into building a home without a blueprint. You certainly wouldn’t begin creating something as intricate as a cathedral without detailed plans. So why would you sink a year or two into composing a novel without plotting it?

A writing career isn’t easy, but these four things will help you avoid a dead-end one. Have you ever seen a talented new writer rise

In storytelling structure, people use the term “act” rather broadly and vaguely. Most in the writing community break stories down into three acts: beginning, middle,

A logline, or log line, is a simple description of a story that is only a sentence long. It boils the story down to its

A tagline is a single sentence that describes a film or book in a defining way. Choosing a tagline early can help you write your

Writing a relationship plotline is key for almost any story. Most narratives will feature a relationship that arcs positively through the book–whether the characters are

Yesterday I got an email from a reader who wanted to know how to get an editor’s attention. He said that he had heard that

Writing a book requires a different approach than writing a movie. Each medium has different strengths, particularly with viewpoint. In his book on screenwriting, George

What defines “good” writing when it comes to a story? That’s a question that I have to ask time and again as I’m judging contest

Open your story with conflict to hook readers and keep them reading. Every story should get to a significant conflict quickly. Conflict should be on

In storytelling, a character’s ghost is a past, significant (and often traumatic) event that shaped his worldview in a thematic way. It prepares the character

Writing with emotional and intellectual payoff not only draws in readers, but keeps them turning page after page. There are several types of emotional payoffs,

Characters are important in every story, and we don’t want to create “stick figures” for key characters. Here are seven things to consider when creating
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