Craft tips, part one: August 1, 2023

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

Today we'll be sharing two collections of can't-miss posts, so as not to overwhelm you.

Here are the ones that help authors refine their work on a big-picture level:

• Embrace the larger story: Author John J. Kelley shares the craft lessons he picked up from last month's blockbuster movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer, with the warning that he will share spoilers (Writer Unboxed).

• What is rising action in a story: Dave Chesson says this is the biggest section of your story, and it's quite possibly the most important in terms of plot development, so be sure to check out his tips on how to nail this part down (Kindlepreneur).

• Decide where you're standing in time as you write your memoir: Jennie Nash, founder of Author Accelerator, shares an excerpt from Blueprint for a Memoir on how to both choose the time frame you plan to write about and the time frame from which you're writing about it (Jane Friedman).

• How to stay focused on your story's central conflict: While each of your scenes needs to contain conflict, it won't necessarily be your story's core conflict — that's fine, but here's how to make sure the side conflicts don't drown out the central one (Writers Helping Writers).

• Using metaphor as magic in fantasy novels: Author Adrienne Tooley explains how she uses metaphor to provide her readers both escapism and reality (Writer's Digest).

• 8 tips for plotting a great heist novel: Author Sara Desai uses multiple well-known thriller tales (as well as her own) to illustrate the key elements of a nail-biting heist novel (Writer's Digest)

• 6 secrets for writing a middle-grade action-adventure novel: Authors Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer unpack the decisions they made in writing a thriller aimed at younger readers (Writer's Digest).