Writing Series

Writing Series

There’s nothing nicer than finishing a great book and then realizing that it’s part of a series. You know that you’ve got so many more books to read—yay! But what is it that’s holding that series together? There are different types of series: those where there’s one...
Placing Your Reader Into Your Story

Placing Your Reader Into Your Story

One of the best things about reading a novel—at least in my opinion—is escaping from my world, my life. When I read I want to stop being me sitting in my home and become someone else somewhere else doing exciting things, having fascinating experiences, falling in...
Five Tips to Adding Depth with Setting

Five Tips to Adding Depth with Setting

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents – except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the...
Writing for the joy of it

Writing for the joy of it

Have you ever looked at something either in your own life or that of someone else and said, “that would make a great story”? Do you play (or have you ever played) Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, or any other role-playing game? If the answer to either of these...
World Building in an Historical Novel

World Building in an Historical Novel

There are dozens (hundreds?) of articles on world building in fantasy and science fiction novels. But what about in other genres? We cannot forget that in any novel, no matter what genre, you are creating a world for your reader. Whether it is a small town in middle...
How do you feel about tropes?

How do you feel about tropes?

Do you love them and couldn’t write a story without them? Do you hate them and think they are a scourge on the face of literature? No matter which way you feel, they are an essential aspect of writing genre fiction. You might think that tropes are just for romances....