by Lynette M. Burrows

To borrow and slightly twist Samwise Gamgee’s words*, the great stories, the ones that really matter, are stories about people, about their relationships. Relationships are a large part of what your readers relate to because we can’t escape them.… Read the post

By Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Writing a strong, interesting, and compelling character is one of the most important aspects of creating a successful novel. How do you do it? By giving that character a strong goal, motivation and conflict. 

It works like this: the goal is the "what?"… Read the post

By Kris Maze

Writing Young Adult (YA) fiction can be a tricky for writers trying to craft authentic characters. This post examines what makes characters in popular YA novels today resonate with young people. If you are writing or planning to write for teens, this deep dive and multiple post series into YA fiction trends can help you craft your own novel.… Read the post

By Lynette M. Burrows

Writers are told to use the five senses to create vivid scenes. But without further information, they struggle to follow that advice. Their use of the five senses is often basic. But our senses are complex, with many descriptive components for each.… Read the post

We talk a lot about planners versus pantsers versus plantsers but we rarely talk about the process of writing. In the long run, whether you outline or discovery write doesn’t matter. What matters most is getting the words on the page.… Read the post