Craft tips for authors: July 28, 2023

The publishing experts we follow have plenty of craft advice to offer.

Here are the ones that we thought were can't-miss for our authors: 

• Revising your plot: Becca Puglisi knows that revising makes many authors nervous, so she breaks the process into rounds — and, going further still, the plot revising round has a checklist you can follow, too (Writers Helping Writers).

• What character arc isn't: Editor, author, and book coach Susan DeFreitas commonly sees writers focus on how the protagonist feels in any given moment, versus how those feelings connect with their character arc (Jane Friedman).

• Unique structures and framing devices: Author Heather Webb explains what structures and framing devices are and how they can enhance your storytelling (Writer Unboxed).

• The peril and promise of writing in first-person POV: Author Amy L. Bernstein has great respect for the power that writing from within the head of your protagonist brings to the story, but she adds a few words of caution to make sure you don't misstep (Jane Friedman).

• A primer on the inciting incident: Dave Chesson sees the phrase "inciting incident" used often in literary advice, so he provides a definition of, examples of, and guidance for it (Kindlepreneur).

• A fine balance: Author Sheryl Webster decided to write a children's book with a message, inspired by a question her child asked her; she describes how she treaded lightly enough to avoid sounding preachy (The Bookseller or The Passive Voice).