Author: Kyla Bagnall
Names are powerful. And naming a character is not a decision to be taken lightly. It can even be more important than a character's carefully-crafted appearance. Good names help both writers and readers move through a story smoothly." — Dan Schmidt But it's no easy task to find the right name for your …
Books are often judged by their cover. And with all the work you've put into your story, you deserve a winning book cover – one that will pique the reader's interest to glance at the blurb on the back, and crack open the pages. So how can you ensure your book …
You've been working away at your novel, lovingly crafting each word, and the thought occurs to you: should I split this into another book or two? Often this thought comes up when you glance at your word length, steadily increasing beyond your expectations. Splitting or expanding your novel into a series …
How do you show how much time has passed in a story? Events happen, characters develop, and so time flows. But as your story stretches across days, weeks and years, it's impossible to write every moment. So how do you skip or gloss over all those parts you don't need to …
'Write with all five senses' is a brilliant rule for working on description; but how familiar are you with each? Sight, sound, smell, touch and taste are five simple details that help make your fictional world come to life. The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where human …
Alternate Point of View (POV) is a complicated narration form, but, if done the right way, it can make for a captivating read. This technique combines the depth of a single character’s perspective with the versatility of switching between characters. You can alternate between two characters, or several – but the …
What does it mean to write for yourself? It means that the story, the characters and the style are what you would want to read. And what you enjoy writing. Writing for the market means creating a book based on current market trends, and what research says readers want to …
Tension is vital for any story. It’s what grips the reader, what keeps them hanging on from page to page and chapter to chapter. Tension can be intense who's-going-to-die moments, or subtler ones that arouse curiosity. It exists primarily for the reader. Your characters may bite their nails with worry, but if …
