Take the time to engage your reader emotionally

Posted on 11/20/2019 at 10:52 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Keeping your reader engaged and interested in your story doesn’t mean rattling off events at an auctioneer’s speed. C.S. Lakin...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Joanna Penn, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

Keep your reader guessing to keep them reading

Posted on 11/16/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

In fiction, tension isn’t about clenching your fists or gritting your teeth — or stating that your protagonist is doing...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

14 questions to ask about each of your novel's scenes

Posted on 11/07/2019 at 11:45 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

When you revise your novel, you should be ensuring that each scene is as strong as it can be. Christian...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

Two-minute tip: Find your core story

Posted on 11/05/2019 at 11:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Author Maisey Yates has advice for any fellow writers considering a genre or subgenre switch. First: Don’t be intimidated about...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Plot / narrative, Romance, Romance Writers of America, Video, Writing advice

5 ways your novel's setting can power the story

Posted on 11/02/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Your choice of a setting for your story should be anything but accidental or incidental. Author Jane Bernstein shares five...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Plot / narrative, Writer's Digest, Writing advice

C.S. Lakin: Your settings shouldn't be just any old place

Posted on 10/15/2019 at 10:58 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The settings of your novel shouldn’t simply be afterthoughts or side notes — they should carry some significance to the...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

What your novel's setup scene should — and shouldn't — do

Posted on 09/23/2019 at 04:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Your setup scene isn’t always the first scene in your book, but — as its name suggests — it definitely...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

You be the critic: Strong openings to memoirs

Posted on 09/07/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Award-winning author Peter Selgin recently critiqued the first pages of two memoirs, to gauge how well they captured the reader....

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative

Editor: Here's how your opening pages can welcome readers in

Posted on 08/31/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Developmental editor Katie McCoach served as a judge for a writing contest earlier this year. In total, she read a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

Steps to using story stakes

Posted on 08/30/2019 at 10:39 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

We’ve previously shared advice from H.R. D’Costa on story stakes, and if you liked her thoughts, good news: we’ve got...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Joanna Penn, Plot / narrative