Writers in the Storm

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Category: Janice Hardy

10 Ways to Get Your Story Un-Stuck

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

When your story stalls take heart—it’s not the end of your novel.

It stinks, but every writer gets stuck from time to time. Some days, it’s a short stall and you struggle with a single scene for a few hours before figuring out how to move forward.… Read the post

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5 Ways to Add Depth to a Scene

By Janice Hardy
@Janice_Hardy

A shallow scene keeps readers from diving into the story.

Years ago, when I was editing my debut novel for my agent (The Shifter for those curious), I struggled to fix a few weak areas in the beginning.… Read the post

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A Premise Isn’t a Plot. But it’s a Good Start.

by Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

You need more than a great idea to write a great novel.

Although I’ve never done an official study on this, I strongly suspect a lot of first novels are premise novels. The writer comes up with an idea and dives in, but they haven’t yet learned how to develop a protagonist with a problem, and are still a little unsure about how to plot.… Read the post

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5 Ways Your Story Hurts Your Novel

By Janice Hardy (@Janice_Hardy)

When your technical writing skills are at a professional level, but you're still not getting bites from agents, editors (or readers if you self-publish), it's time to look at the story itself.

One of the more frustrating aspects of being an author is the sheer unfairness of publishing.… Read the post

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5 Steps to Creating a Unique Character Voice

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Create unique character voices by varying how they communicate with other characters.

I’m one of those writers who needs to put my characters through a first draft before I figure out who they really are. Tossing them into trouble and watching how they wrangle their way out of it helps me get to know them.… Read the post

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