Literary Elements

How do you write a novel that has satisfying structure? The story arc or narrative arc of a novel is something you can consciously develop in your outline or as you draft to create cohesive structure. Read 5 steps to make your novel’s arcs work: see more.

5 Key Setting Mistakes To Avoid In Your Fiction By Mary Buckman My writing students come from all over the world and write in every genre and subgenre imaginable. While their writing is often solid, sometimes it lacks key elements. This is hardly surprising since there are so many things to juggle in creating a good

By Janice Hardy Good characters step off the page and into readers’ hearts, but that doesn’t happen if all the characters sound the same. Too-similar voices can make it hard to tell characters apart and they wind up blending together into one big character mush . . . see more

Previously, we talked about how descriptive writing is a crucial aspect of creating a book that absorbs, enthralls and entertains your reader… But what happens when descriptive writing goes too far? You know what it’s like – how often have you read a book by a novice that contains seemingly endless run-on sentences so packed

Good story openings are challenging to write but an inviting or catchy first sentence reels readers into your fictional world. Here are 8 famous first lines that teach us how to begin a novel in style: 1. Good story openings make us want more information A strong story opening immediately makes you want to know more.