The secret to writing a strong first chapter

Posted on 03/01/2021 at 10:39 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

You’ve been warned about and have likely internalized just how important it is to have a strong opening chapter for...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: First lines and first chapters, Jane Friedman

Are your scenes the right shapes?

Posted on 02/10/2021 at 10:51 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

If you found a recent post about story shapes to be helpful or interesting, we have another variation on that...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative

Learn the seven basic story "shapes" in fiction

Posted on 02/05/2021 at 11:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Modern authors are always encouraged to learn from the classics, and this blog post is no exception — though it’s...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative

Learn how to master the three types of third-person point of view

Posted on 01/28/2021 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Can’t get enough about point of view in novels? Well, good news: editor Tiffany Yates Martin is chiming in on...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Writing advice

The one emotion that your novel must inspire in readers

Posted on 01/26/2021 at 03:56 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

In a recent Facebook post, we asked readers what feature of a book they absolutely could not live without. Their...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Writing advice

Ready to return to that unfinished book? Here's how!

Posted on 01/21/2021 at 11:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Author, editor, and writing coach Allison K. Williams must be spying on us. Within the first lines of her column...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Motivational

What to ask for and expect from an editor

Posted on 01/12/2021 at 10:41 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Writer Unboxed and Jane Friedman both featured posts recently on the editing experience. At the former, longtime editor Jim Dempsey...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Jane Friedman, Writer Unboxed

Editor: Try starting your story at the end

Posted on 12/31/2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

It’s New Year’s Eve, a day of looking back at the year that was before celebrating the beginning of a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: First lines and first chapters, Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative

How (and why) to capture emotional truth in your writing

Posted on 12/23/2020 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

It’s a sentimental time of year — how can you stir the same level of feeling in your readers year-round?...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Writing advice

Best practices for using multiple first-person narrators

Posted on 12/14/2020 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The more the merrier? Sure, with a caveat when it comes to first-person narrators. Author Ken Brosky recently read a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative