Writing

By Elizabeth Sims The very first novel I, aged 20-something, wrote, is unpublished and will stay that way. An ensemble coming-of-age story of four teenagers, its weaknesses are legion: tame story line, thin action, unimaginatively rendered settings, hackneyed themes (though I will say the dialogue wasn’t bad). Having now published seven novels, I look back […]

By Glen C. Strathy Your ability to write good story endings may not be as crucial to selling your fiction as the ability to write good beginnings, but it will certainly pay off in the long run in terms of satisfying your readers. Here we will review the basic types of endings, look at what

By Tamar Sloan Psychology has given us such a wonderful understanding into human behaviour that’s it’s a veritable gold-mine for writers. It not only lets us understand our characters on a deeper level, but also our readers. Those fellow humans — that we’re asking to trade their money and their time in return for consuming

Writing the historical novel brings several unique challenges. Obviously, historical accuracy is paramount, and much of your preparation will no doubt be devoted to research. It’s tempting, when you finally begin to write, to use as many of the details you discovered as possible, or to let historic events drive the action on the page.

By: Cheryl St John “Your novel is lacking tension.” “I understand the reason for this scene, but my mind kept wandering while I was reading.” “This chapter is missing a hook … I’m just not interested.” You might have received this or similar feedback from your writing buddy, critique group, or even an agent or editor