Why January is the Best Month to Outline (Even if You Hate Outlining)
Outlining tends to split writers into camps. Some rely on it to feel grounded. Others avoid it entirely, convinced it will drain the life out of a story before it ever reaches the page. If you fall into the second group, January can feel like the worst possible time to hear someone suggest outlining. You […]
Building Emotional Stakes: Why Your Story Needs More Than Just Explosions
Emotional stakes are what lead up to those gut-punch moments in a story that make readers care about what’s going on. If you’re new to writing or stuck on a draft that’s just not clicking, this is where you can fix it. Stakes aren’t just about someone getting chased by a bear. They’re about what’s […]
Layering Conflict to Bring Your Draft to Life
A lot of new writers (and even some who’ve been at it a while) get stuck with a half-finished manuscript because their stories lack the magnetic pull that keeps readers flipping pages late into the night. Their characters are going nowhere, or their plot feels stuck in the mud. The fix isn’t anything new or […]
Time Jumps Made Easy: How to Write Nonlinear Narratives That Flow
If you’ve ever read a book with a nonlinear narrative, you either loved it or you hated it. And if you loved it, chances are you’ve been entertaining the thought of doing the same in one of your own projects, but have been waiting for the right one. Nonlinear narratives are great for exploring themes, […]
Timing is Everything: How to Pace Your Story
It can be tricky to create effective pacing in your writing. Pacing isn’t just how fast your story moves along. It isn’t how slow it moves, either. Some readers may prefer one or the other (think action-packed suspense or slow-burn romance), but every story includes elements of both. Pacing is how you present your story […]
The 27 Chapter Blueprint: Exploring a Method to Novel Writing
Kat O’Keefe’s 9 Blocks, 27 Chapter Method gives writers a strategic framework to build their novel around. Using the basis of Three Act Structure, the method uses the power of three to divide each act into three blocks, and each block into three beats. These beats can each be turned into a chapter, giving you […]