Posted on July 23, 2026 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
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:
-
The importance of protagonist context: Book coach Erin Radniecki explains that your readers will assign meaning to all of the events in your book, based on their own life experiences, if you don't paint a detailed enough picture of how your individual main character will react to them (Jane Friedman).
-
Stress-testing your story before it's load-bearing: Writer Harper Ross received negative feedback from authors she trusted on a work in progress, and while it stung at the time, she's grateful for the opportunity it gave her to examine the work and identify what was missing (Writer Unboxed).
-
How to amp up a "boring" story setting: Angela Ackerman provides techniques for making any setting, no matter how distinctive or generic it is, feel real and alive to your readers (Writers Helping Writers).
-
On moving past plotlessness: Author Andrea Uptmor concludes her reflections on how she acquired the habit of writing beautiful but meandering fiction with three takeaways on relearning how to write plot (Writer's Digest).
-
Test-drive your jokes on fellow humans: Karim Shamsi-Basha lists seven types of people who can serve as useful test subjects for any jokes or funny scenes you write (Writer's Digest).
Categories: Behind the scenes