Add a watcher to your novel's scenes to increase tension

Posted on 06/23/2021 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

At one point in your life or another, you've become aware that someone is watching you — and felt self-conscious,...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Scenes, Writer Unboxed, Writing advice

Quick tips on rethinking a scene and delaying the inciting incident

Posted on 05/07/2021 at 01:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The May 2021 edition of Desmond’s Drops is up on Writer Unboxed. This month’s topics are how to avoid cliched...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Plot / narrative, Scenes, Writer Unboxed

How to make your readers feel like they're in your scene

Posted on 04/27/2021 at 01:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

For writer and book coach Susan DeFreitas, the most powerful scenes are the ones where readers feel as though they...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Plot / narrative, Scenes

Quick advice on character flaws and scene setup

Posted on 04/03/2021 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

We share quite a few posts and podcasts on our author newswire. But if those formats aren’t your favorite for...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Scenes, Writer Unboxed

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, Scenes

Reader time: It's about the quality, not quantity, of scenes

Posted on 02/03/2021 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Plenty of writing blogs offer advice and tips on proper pacing of your novel. Author Barbara Linn Probst has read...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Plot / narrative, Scenes, Writer Unboxed

How to efficiently make a scene feel real to your readers

Posted on 01/11/2021 at 10:52 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Regular readers of our C.S. Lakin posts know the value of bringing a scene’s setting to life. Her latest advice...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Scenes, Setting

C.S. Lakin: These two elements add up to a great scene

Posted on 12/21/2020 at 02:29 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

It may be Christmas break for most students, but C.S. Lakin has some assigned reading for authors who want to...

Categories: Behind the scenes

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

What five features does the perfect scene in a novel need?

Posted on 11/11/2020 at 02:18 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Fans of checklists, C.S. Lakin has a gift for you. She has a list of five essential components for every...

Categories: Behind the scenes

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

Bring a scene to life without relying on the five basic senses

Posted on 11/04/2020 at 03:34 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Past teachers may have encouraged you to add adjectives and adverbs to your essays and discouraged you from beginning a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Scenes, Setting, Writer's Digest