Editing can undo even the greatest writers. While the creative spirit flies high for writers during the drafting stage, many find editing to be boring and tedious. Some even skip the process altogether.

Unfortunately, there’s no way around the fact that editing is, for most, nowhere near as fun as the free sprint of a first draft. However, if you want to finish, pitch, and sell your story, then you must accept that your manuscript will need to undergo multiple types of editing, including development, line-, and copy-editing. A final proofread is also essential to identify any remaining grammar and style mistakes in the text.

As writers, one of our core missions is to craft stories in which our readers can invest. Stories so captivating that readers fly through the pages.

The most opportune time for readers to set a book aside comes when they finish a chapter. In that space between one page and the next, readers ask themselves just how much they care about the fate of the characters. Do they need to know what happens next? If their gut says no, they’ll likely set the book aside—and there’s a decent chance they might not pick it up again.

To pen a deliciously addictive book, it’s therefore vital to consider the page-turning power of your chapter endings. Where a dull closing page will deter readers, a few intriguing lines can hook them in for yet another scene. But how, exactly, do you go about instilling readers with the need to know what happens next?

The opening chapters of your story are doubtless some of the most important you’ll write.

When crafted with care, a strong opening sequence effectively hooks readers into your story, encouraging them to keep turning pages to learn more about your characters, plot, and story world. A poor opening sequence, on the other hand, can lead readers to toss your book aside in boredom or frustration before your story ever gets off the ground. 

Knowing the vital importance of a strong opening sequence, I jumped at the opportunity to work with freelance editor Isobelle Lans when she offered me her ‘First Three Chapters’ service in exchange for an honest testimonial and review. 

From tentative first kisses to explicit sex scenes, intimacy in fiction can exist in many forms.

Included in that range is the popular fade-to-black, in which an intimate scene ends before anything too explicit happens on the page, nevertheless implying the characters share certain intimacies “off-screen.” A vulnerable conversation between friends or lovers can prove quite intimate as well, though today we’re going to stick to physical intimacies and how we can write them. 

Those awkward, cringe-worthy love scenes? Those are exactly what I’m going to show you how to avoid today, using techniques I’ve gleaned from Diana Gabaldon’s I Give You My Body.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

This quote, often attributed to Anton Chekhov, is frequently used as an example of the “Show, Don’t Tell” technique that can help writers craft descriptive sensory language. 

The use of such language has grown popular in recent decades thanks to the rise of film and television, which has led readers to favor fiction they can visualize as clearly as a movie in their minds’ eye. I discussed this shift toward film-making principles (and away from fiction’s previously popular all-knowing narrator) in my first article on the “Show, Don’t Tell” technique.

But today, I want to explore “Show, Don’t Tell” in a new light…

As both a reader and a writer, I am a big fan of romance.

I love the unique tension and allure that exists within a love story, the will-they-or-won’t-they mystery that leads to such great page-turning material. But that material can’t exist without strong romantic chemistry between the characters in question (as evidenced by many a lackluster rom-com, am I right?) And unfortunately, chemistry isn’t exactly easy to define or to craft.

Though I don’t write within the romance genre myself, romantic subplots are a staple in my personal brand of storytelling. So today, I’m going to share with you everything I’ve learned about crafting romantic chemistry readers can believe in.

Have you ever read a sentence that leaves your jaw resting atop your chest? Something so perfect, so planned, so melodic that you can’t help but marvel at the sheer mastery of the writer’s genius? 

These examples of seemingly elusive “perfect sentences” are more than likely rhythmic ones, and are intentionally written with poetic cadence, smoothly disguised under the guise of mere storytelling. 

Although these sentences may feel like they have a sort of je ne sais quoi, there are specific strategies you can use to weave some rhythm into your own fiction storytelling.

Finding your personal writing process is essential to building a writing life you love.

Without knowing which techniques help you create your best work, you’ll struggle to get your stories down on the page. But every writer’s process is unique. The methods that work well for one writer won’t necessarily work for you. That’s why it’s vital you discover your unique writing process, including the method that helps you craft your best first drafts.

Traditionally, writers outline their stories, then use that outline to guide them as they draft their idea in full. But what if this method doesn’t work well for you? Good news! Today, I’m sharing three alternative drafting techniques that might just revolutionize your writing process. Let’s break them down together.

With National Novel Writing Month just six weeks away, it's time we had a chat about writing challenges. 

A writing challenge can take many forms. It can be a simple self-imposed goal or deadline. Or it can be a community-based event that encourages you to write daily or weekly short fiction, a 50,000-word novel in a month, or another goal entirely.

Whatever the intended output, writing challenges can present great opportunities to improve your writing skills and commitment to the craft. But writing challenges have a dark side that isn’t often discussed.

Flashbacks are some of the most difficult scenes to write.

When effective, flashback scenes relay vital backstory that cuts straight to the emotional core of a narrative. They exist because they must, because there is no better way to reveal the information on which the story hinges. But like the infamous prologue, flashback scenes are all too easy to get wrong. 

An ineffective flashback will jar readers out of a story as quickly as a successful one will grip them by the heartstrings. How can you ensure your own flashbacks serve a powerful purpose within your stories? Let’s discuss…

Most fiction writers come to the page with a passion for either language or storytelling.

My own strengths lie in the latter. I love mapping plots arcs, developing characters, and crafting fictional worlds. Yet for me, translating those story elements onto the page has always felt like pulling teeth. I simply don’t have a natural knack for prose, which is why I’ve spent the past several years working hard to improve the quality of my writing.

If you’d like to do the same, today’s article is for you. In this mega-guide, I’m sharing each specific element of prose you should consider at every step in the writing process, breaking down the overwhelm of learning to write wonderfully readable prose so you can work to level up your writing skills with confidence. Shall we begin?

Every phenomenal story unfolds in a series of scenes. 

If each scene in a book is a link in a chain, one weak link can threaten the overall power of a story. By learning how to craft better, more compelling scenes — scenes that are irresistible in their interest and emotional pull — we learn how to craft better, more compelling stories. But what exactly makes for a spellbinding, well-structured scene?

To answer that question, we must first ask another...