Writing Techniques

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Featured image for author Maida Korte's guest blog

Authoring – and Other Writerly Pursuits

Maida Korte explores 5 critical tenets to help writer's prove their authorship and create unabashedly in a piece on her...
Typewriter with some cameras around, how to write a logline for the collaborative medium

How to Write a Logline

A strong logline can determine whether anyone reads your screenplay. Learn how to craft a one-sentence pitch that highlights your...
paradox

Paradox in Writing: Revealing Truth Through Contradiction

“The way of paradoxes is the way of truth. To test reality we must see it on the tight-rope.”– Oscar...

creative writing

What is Creative Writing? How to Shape Ideas into Art

Creative writing invites writers to move beyond facts and formulas, using imagination and craft to shape ideas into compelling stories....

dramatic opening

How to Outline a Dramatic Opening

Structurally, a dramatic opening functions as a hook. Emotionally, it needs to do more than just attract attention. When an...

how to write a novel

How to Write a Novel: Step by Step

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” – W. Somerset Maugham There...

writing hooks
Blog
Alan Watt

How to Write a Hook

When you’re at the bookstore surfing for a good read, you’re often trying to get a sense of the tone and texture

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Recent posts

paradox

Paradox in Writing: Revealing Truth Through Contradiction

“The way of paradoxes is the way of truth. To test reality we must see it on the tight-rope.”– Oscar...

hyperbole

Hyperbole: When Exaggeration Strengthens Story

Hyperbole is how we speak when ordinary language isn’t big enough. Do you remember your first heartbreak? Even though you...

extended metaphor

Extended Metaphors: Turning Simple Comparisons into Lasting Impact

Metaphors are one of the first additions to our writing toolbox, usually paired with the simile in our high school...

Prologue

What is a Prologue? How and When to Use One

Occasionally, tucked somewhere between an introduction, epigraph, and dedication, a book might have a prologue. This is the story before...

theme in literature

Theme in Literature Explained (With Examples & Tips)

Theme is a mysterious and often misunderstood term. Simply put, a theme is a unifying or dominant idea explored in...

worldbuilding

Worldbuilding: A Step-by-Step Writer’s Guide

Crafting a compelling story comes with several responsibilities. You are in charge of creating the plot, the characters, the prose,...

How to Write Dialogue

How to Write Dialogue that Sounds Authentic

Writing dialogue can be intimidating, even for the most experienced writers. Sometimes the words feel clumsy and unnatural, or we...

novella

What is a Novella? Key Characteristics Explained

Some of literature’s greatest stories aren’t in novel form at all, but a different kind of prose. Rich characters like...

purple prose

Purple Prose: When Lyrical Language Goes Too Far

Like all things in life, the way we write requires balance. When you look back on your first attempts at...

magical realism

Magical Realism: Writing Wonder into the Everyday

Magical realism invites the impossible into the ordinary. This genre asks us to accept the fantastical without question. The supernatural...

parallelism

Parallelism: Crafting Meaning in Repetition

There’s no rhythm without some repeated notes. Certain literary and rhetorical devices are so ingrained in how we speak and...

high fantasy vs low fantasy

High Fantasy vs Low Fantasy: Key Differences You Should Know

All stories have some magic in them. On one end of the spectrum, you have stories spanning across galaxies with...

setting

Setting: Establishing the World of Your Story

Setting isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a signal, cueing the reader how to read what comes next. Before a character...

writing hooks

How to Write a Hook

When you’re at the bookstore surfing for a good read, you’re often trying to get a sense of the tone...

symbolism

Symbolism in Storytelling: Writing with Deeper Meaning

Does the word “symbolism” give you unwelcome flashbacks to your high school English classes? The idea is foreign when we...

show, don't tell

Your Writing Guide to “Show, Don’t Tell”

I suppose everything is easier said than done. The same is true for writing. It’s one thing to say a...

monologue

Writing Monologues That Matter

Most of our everyday speech happens in dialogue — in conversations. You might talk to yourself from time to time,...

juxtaposition

What is Juxtaposition? Using Contrast to Deepen Your Story

The best way to flesh out something is by showing what it isn’t. If that sounds like a paradox, you’re...