Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It
Why do readers put down a novel for good before they reach the last page? Here is a reason, maybe t
Here is a list of the top ten writing techniques in order of their importance, as best I can figure
Here are Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules of writing. Also, why reading an Andy Weir novel is such
Here is a scene with a strong plot point important to our story. It should be powerful but it isn&a
What if we get the sense that our story is a trope, that the plot is a cliche, that it's been d
Classic novelists knew the strong technique regarding plotting and it's a terrific lesson for u
When can a book coach help us and when can a coach not help us? Here are thoughts on book coaches.
Sometimes we don't need to use the standard and strong writing technique, and we can deviate fr
Blake Snyder's famous Save the Cat plotting--where he describes fifteen beats a movie screenpla
How can we submit a manuscript that meets the industry's format expectations and so avoids an a
We aren't villains, and we likely don't have the background and personality of a villain.
Sometimes new writers have a strong plot idea and they begin writing without learning much about fic
We learn many techniques to improve our fiction writing. Is there one big thing we should think abo
Here is a technique--it's magical--to make our sentence-by-sentence writing instantly stronger;
Naming our story's characters is fun but there is a big technique involved, which we talk about
It's critical for us writers to make multiple simultaneous submissions. Here are some thoughts
Where can we turn when wondering about whether we should continue reading a novel? Right here, for
Some novels--even novels that are great literature--have titles that are downers: titles that are so
Details are proofs, evidence offered to the reader about our story. Details will make our fiction
For most of us our sentence-by-sentence writing should be a clear window to our story rather than a
