alan watt on writing

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Different writing styles featured image from the 1600s, painting by Gabriël Metsu used to depict a very royal feeling to writing

A Look at 5 Different Writing Styles

Just as your characters each have a distinct voice, every writing style carries its own purpose, logic, and effect. Knowing...

Featured image for flash fiction. It's fast, it's fun, and it's meant to go by in a blur. Hopefully the intention and quickness you embrace in the simplicity brings you closer to the writing and it evokes feelings of this image as a writer

Flash Fiction

If you want to become a better writer, flash fiction is a powerful way to strengthen your storytelling muscles. Flash...

A nondescript white woman paints a realistic image of hands for the blog realistic fiction. perhaps the writer reading the article may be able to imagine themselves as a painter making something realistic too

Realistic Fiction

There’s a particular kind of courage in writing about the world as it actually is. Although our imaginations can take...

Featured image for Character vs. Society blog, a woman standing alone looking to withered brush that supersedes her hierarchically in the frame to suggest an antagonistic juxtaposition

Character vs. Society

While each type of narrative conflict serves a purpose, Character vs. Society can be particularly interesting. Instead of a protagonist...

A winding road used as a visual metaphor to conceptualize how foreshadowing may be utilized by a writer in the plot of a novel, movie, or play

Foreshadowing examples

Can you recall some of the most well-executed foreshadowing examples in books you’ve read? Or in your favorite films? In...

How to introduce a character: sometimes the introduction is the character themselves asking to be invited in, and the audience will decide for you who they are. These characters can come from anywhere, and be anyone you need them to.

How to Introduce a Character in a Screenplay

How to Introduce a Character in a Screenplay: Master the art of first impressions with proper formatting, action cues, and...

Book Editing

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An Editing Checklist for Writers
Book Editing

An Editing Checklist for Writers

Beta Readers: Finding Trusted Insight for Your Work
Book Editing

Beta Readers: Finding Trusted Insight for Your Work

Getting Notes – Ten Things to Consider
Book Editing

Getting Notes – Ten Things to Consider

Banishing Redundancies
Book Editing

Banishing Redundancies

Conflating Characters
Book Editing

Conflating Characters

Book Outline

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Character Outline
Book Outline

Character Outline

Book Outline: Where Do I Start?
Book Outline

Book Outline: Where Do I Start?

The Pantser Method: Writing Without an Outline
Book Outline

The Pantser Method: Writing Without an Outline

How to Outline a Dramatic Opening
Book Outline

How to Outline a Dramatic Opening

What is a Thematic Statement? Examples and Writing Strategies
Book Outline

What is a Thematic Statement? Examples and Writing Strategies

Character Development

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Character vs. Society
Character Development

Character vs. Society

Writing a Foil Character
Character Development

Writing a Foil Character

Your 6-Step Road to Character Profiles
Character Development

Your 6-Step Road to Character Profiles

The Purpose of Flat Characters
Character Development

The Purpose of Flat Characters

Master Character Arcs for Compelling Storytelling
Character Development

Master Character Arcs for Compelling Storytelling

How to Publish a Book

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How to Write a Memoir

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How to Write a Memoir: From First Draft to Lasting Impact
How to Write a Memoir

How to Write a Memoir: From First Draft to Lasting Impact

What is a Memoir? From Personal Experience to Universal Truth
How to Write a Memoir

What is a Memoir? From Personal Experience to Universal Truth

Memoir: Mastering the Impossible
How to Write a Memoir

Memoir: Mastering the Impossible

Tell Your Truth
How to Write a Memoir

Tell Your Truth

Writing Memoir
How to Write a Memoir

Writing Memoir

How to Write a Novel

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How to Plan a Novel
How to Write a Novel

How to Plan a Novel

How to Plot a Novel
How to Write a Novel

How to Plot a Novel

How to Write a Novel: Step by Step
How to Write a Novel

How to Write a Novel: Step by Step

“How Many Words in a Novel?”
How to Write a Novel

“How Many Words in a Novel?”

Novels vs Books — What’s the Difference?
How to Write a Novel

Novels vs Books — What’s the Difference?

How to Write a Screenplay

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Story Structure

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Internal Conflict
Story Structure

Internal Conflict

Plot Holes
Story Structure

Plot Holes

Types of Conflict in Literature
Story Structure

Types of Conflict in Literature

The 5 Core Stages of Freytag’s Pyramid
Story Structure

The 5 Core Stages of Freytag’s Pyramid

Mastering Story Arcs for Stronger Storytelling
Story Structure

Mastering Story Arcs for Stronger Storytelling

The Writing Process

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Writers on Writing

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Unmoored: My Search for Meaning
Writers on Writing

Unmoored: My Search for Meaning

Follow the Dog: On Persistence and Self-Trust
Writers on Writing

Follow the Dog: On Persistence and Self-Trust

4 Tips for Writing a Novel
Writers on Writing

4 Tips for Writing a Novel

Authoring – and Other Writerly Pursuits
Writers on Writing

Authoring – and Other Writerly Pursuits

What I Need to Write
Writers on Writing

What I Need to Write

Writing Resources and Tools

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