Dialogue vs. Action Tags

“Come with me,” she said softly before spinning away, her long hair fanning out as she did so. “Come with me.” She crooked her finger before spinning on her heel, her long hair fanning out as she did so, and sauntered away. Which engages you more? Which one paints a...

Creating Characters to Love

People! They can be so difficult ( says the devoted introvert). They are extremely complicated beings with their likes and dislikes, their personal history, and so many different factors that go into how they see the world, how they speak, even how they dress. And...

Story Structure Revisited

There are so many different types of story structure. and they have anywhere from three parts to six, twenty-four, or more. I happen to be fascinated by story structure. It’s a fundamental piece of writing fiction—and can be used for nonfiction as well. Story...

Going into the Backstory

Sometimes when you’re writing a novel, things just begin to get… stuck. You aren’t quite sure where your characters are going. Maybe you don’t know how they’ll grow, or what is holding them back from doing so. It’s at times like this that it’s best to go back to the...

Smiles, Nods, and Moving Body Parts

Is now a good time to think about all of your overused words and phrases? Yes, it is! It doesn’t matter where you are in writing your novel, now is always a good time to think of these things. Well, yes, there is always a caveat to that. If you’re a pantser or someone...