Bad Beginnings: Five Story Openers to Avoid

It’s common knowledge that the beginning of a novel is crucial to gaining the reader’s interest and this is especially true in manuscript submissions. If the acquiring editor is hooked, they’ll want to read more and it could lead to a contract. Alternately, if the story fails to grab them, they’ll likely reject the book…. Read more »

#5OnFri: Five Ways to Make Writing Prompts Work For You

Writing prompts can be a powerful tool to jumpstart our writing, but they can also feel like a waste of time…if we don’t approach them with purpose. Here are five ways you can make writing prompts work for you, whether you are blocked, are in the middle of a work-in-progress or simply want to write… Read more »

Episode 138: Writing By Numbers— Interview with Ben Blatt

Hey there word nerds! Today I’m delighted to interview journalist and statistician, Ben Blatt, about his new book Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve. Ben is a former staff writer for Slate and The Harvard Lampoon who has taken his fun approach to data journalism to topics such as Seinfeld, mapmaking, The Beatles, and Jeopardy! His… Read more »

Mystery, Thriller, or Suspense: Does the Label Matter?

When you search for a book to read, do genre labels drive your choices? They certainly affect mine. If I want a fast paced, edge-of-your-seat-experience I look for a thriller. If I’m in a puzzle-solving mood, it’s off to the mystery section. And I expect them all to have elements of suspense. And yet, on… Read more »

Developing Themes In Your Stories: Part 9 – The Midpoint

We’ve covered two plot points so far in Developing Themes In Your Stories: the inciting incident, which thrusts the protagonist into a story’s external conflict; and the Act I choice, where the protagonist takes the first step to achieving his goal. Now he’s in the thick of that goal pursuit, but not everything has been… Read more »

#5Onfri: Five Sources of Writer Inspiration

Beginning with a parachute drop in the night skies of 1980’s Afghanistan and ending in the recent Paris terrorist attacks, Assassins is a contemporary historical novel of last thirty years of conflict between Islam and the West. Based largely on my own experiences and those of others I know, Assassins lives this unending war through… Read more »

The Merits of Happily Ever After

If you ask any romance reader what they love most about their genre, most will say it’s the happily ever after (or HEA, as it’s lovingly referred to). It’s the defining characteristic of what makes a romance a romance. It’s the number one requirement for romances novels entered in Romance Writer of America writing contests:… Read more »

#5OnFri: 5 Ways Writers Can Benefit from Aromatherapy

The writing life is a constant rollercoaster of ups and downs. One day you’re struck with inspiration and don’t dare to pry your hands away from the keyboard even if the house is on fire. Other days, you doubt every single word you wrote the day before. Whether it’s the inspiration to create, the confidence… Read more »