Delve deep into the artistry of writing with a focus on refining your craft. From character development to world-building and beyond, enhance your skills with tips, techniques, and advice from fellow authors and industry professionals.
The Fascination with the ‘Final Girl’ in Horror As writers, we often walk a fine line between tropes and clichés. Sure, tropes may echo other books in the genre or feel predictable as you read them—but as Jennifer Hilt, author of the Trope Thesaurus series, writes, “a skillful application...
Guest Author Megan Haskell Offers Her Advice on Strategizing Better Reader Relationships Seasoned indie authors understand: for your business’s long-term growth, quality often outranks quantity when it comes to reader relationships. But how do you ensure you’re connecting with the right audience? In the second part of her...
The Similarities and Differences between US and UK Schools that May Show Up in Your Manuscript School is back in session, and for authors who write YA in academic settings, inspiration may be at the bus stop right outside your door. But if your story has dark academia tropes, light...
Going Pro If you decide your draft could benefit from a more specialized review, either in certain passages or for plot or character elements that occur throughout the book, subject matter experts, or SMEs, can often cut down the research you'll need to do and provide more specific...
Gill Fernley When it comes to the back cover blurb, many authors think they have to summarize their entire ninety-thousand-word novel in just a few lines. But a successful blurb is not meant to be a summary of your novel. It’s a sales pitch to nudge people into buying...
Traditional Publishers Edit According to American English. Should Indies Do the Same? Hey. Howdy. Hello. Yo. Greetings. G’day. These word choices for greeting someone tell a lot. They can reflect class, culture, age, and even nationality. But word choices can also reflect a writer’s country and its English...
