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5 Essential Creative Writing Tips
Whether you’re brainstorming your first story or publishing your ninth book, there comes a point when all writers wonder the same thing.
September 11, 2026
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Writing Techniques
Most popular posts
Tension can arise from anywhere — in a simple conversation, a family dinner, a job interview, or even with a...
Have you ever read a book and come across a word you’d never heard or seen before? At first, you...
Fourth person point of view is a unique and rarely used perspective in stories. First person gives us “I.” Second...
A character’s introduction is one of the most important parts of your story. Done well, your reader can make a...
Learning how to write a fight scene isn’t really about choreography. It’s about tension and what’s truly at stake for...
There is no “correct” approach to point of view in literature. Your sole consideration is how you want your reader...
Coming of age is never easy. You might have been the popular kid in school, armed with academic excellence, physical...
Occasionally, tucked somewhere between an introduction, epigraph, and dedication, a book might have a prologue. This is the story before...
Magical realism invites the impossible into the ordinary. This genre asks us to accept the fantastical without question. The supernatural...
A powerful way to shift the perspective of your audience is to employ dramatic irony. This literary device lets the...
The first time you experienced the magic of storytelling, odds are it was a personal story you heard in first...
Motifs are one of the best literary devices you can have in your writer’s toolbox. Essentially, a motif is a...
Blog
How to Write a Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger is not a trick, but a promise. As a storyteller, you want to grab your reader’s attention and hold it
September 10, 2026
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Blog
Theme Ideas: Finding the Core Your Story
Theme ideas aren’t something tacked on to the end of a story. They are central to the narrative, and woven throughout it.
September 9, 2026
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Blog
Writing Motivation
Have you ever found yourself staring at the blank page and waiting for the spark, but it doesn’t come? So you walk
September 8, 2026
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Blog
7 Elements of Fiction: How to Build a Story
Have you ever wondered why some stories stay with you, while others fade from memory before you even close the cover? There’s
September 6, 2026
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Blog
Book Tropes: Using Familiar Ideas in Fresh Ways
There’s a difference between a book trope and a literary cliche, and the distinction is important. While a cliche is a storytelling
August 31, 2026
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Blog
Mood vs. Tone: What’s the Difference? (And Why Every Writer Needs to Know)
Have you ever read a scene that made you uneasy, while nothing bad was happening? Or perhaps you read a narrator who
August 28, 2026
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Blog
The Ultimate Literary Devices List: 120 Powerful Techniques Every Writer Should Know
Literary devices are a variety of techniques that writers use to craft better stories, characters, dialogues, and scenes. You probably learned about
August 24, 2026
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Blog
Contractions in Writing
You may have been taught to avoid contractions in your writing, but that rule typically applies to formal academic writing. There isn’t
August 15, 2026
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Blog
What is Rhythm? How to Bring Your Writing to Life
Rhythm is one of those craft issues that writers talk around without really discussing. They might lump it in with general recommendations
July 20, 2026
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Blog
The Cumulative Sentence: How to Write Lines that Pull Readers In
The cumulative sentence is a versatile sentence structure that helps writers develop rhythm, reveal character, and enrich description within a single line.
July 16, 2026
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Blog
Dialogue Tags: The Art of Guiding Conversation
Dialogue tags are essential to keeping up the illusion of storytelling. Dialogue ceases to be words on a page, and readers start
July 11, 2026
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Blog
The Scapegoat: Why Your Characters Need Someone to Blame
Typically, we view a scapegoat simply as a plot device — an innocent bystander blamed for a criminal act, or the black
July 10, 2026
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Blog
Descriptive Adjectives: Choosing Words That Create Emotion
Almost every writer has, at some point, re-read something they worked hard on and realized it wasn’t quite right. It lays flat
July 3, 2026
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Blog
Third Person Objective – Point of View
Previously, I went over third person omniscient and third person limited points of view. There’s one more to consider: third person objective
June 22, 2026
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Blog
What is Subtext?
For writers, implying subtext can be difficult, but it is also essential. The challenge lies in knowing what needs to be said
June 19, 2026
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Blog
The Fichtean Curve
The Fichtean Curve takes a different approach from other story structure models. Most structure templates take a little time to establish the
June 15, 2026
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Blog
Passive Voice Misuse
You may have heard the conventional wisdom that passive voice misuse means it should be stricken from your writing entirely. While it
June 8, 2026
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Recent posts
Whether you’re brainstorming your first story or publishing your ninth book, there comes a point when all writers wonder the...
A cliffhanger is not a trick, but a promise. As a storyteller, you want to grab your reader’s attention and...
Theme ideas aren’t something tacked on to the end of a story. They are central to the narrative, and woven...
Have you ever found yourself staring at the blank page and waiting for the spark, but it doesn’t come? So...
Have you ever wondered why some stories stay with you, while others fade from memory before you even close the...
There’s a difference between a book trope and a literary cliche, and the distinction is important. While a cliche is...
Have you ever read a scene that made you uneasy, while nothing bad was happening? Or perhaps you read a...
Literary devices are a variety of techniques that writers use to craft better stories, characters, dialogues, and scenes. You probably...
You may have been taught to avoid contractions in your writing, but that rule typically applies to formal academic writing....
Rhythm is one of those craft issues that writers talk around without really discussing. They might lump it in with...
The cumulative sentence is a versatile sentence structure that helps writers develop rhythm, reveal character, and enrich description within a...
Dialogue tags are essential to keeping up the illusion of storytelling. Dialogue ceases to be words on a page, and...
Typically, we view a scapegoat simply as a plot device — an innocent bystander blamed for a criminal act, or...
Almost every writer has, at some point, re-read something they worked hard on and realized it wasn’t quite right. It...
Previously, I went over third person omniscient and third person limited points of view. There’s one more to consider: third...
For writers, implying subtext can be difficult, but it is also essential. The challenge lies in knowing what needs to...
The Fichtean Curve takes a different approach from other story structure models. Most structure templates take a little time to...
You may have heard the conventional wisdom that passive voice misuse means it should be stricken from your writing entirely....