Tag: fiction writing

Great writing is all about great motion and change — and every bit of motion needs a motivation. You can track these cycles by creating a motion map.

Writing prompts are one way to work your creative-writing muscles — and while scenario-based prompts can help you practice creative leaps, images can sometimes open the door even wider.

Not only does keeping a journal of short fiction keep your creative writing muscles working, harvesting your short fiction might lead to your next great idea for a novel.

You can listen to your cast of characters at any stage in the writing process, but it might be especially useful near the end when most of the story is fleshed out. It can be a good check of your story logic and add a last ingenious layer of polish.

There are many ways to use chapters effectively in your writing, just make sure your design is never random and you're on your way to crafting the perfect chapter.

If you do the required scientific research, your novels will transcend storytelling and the “science” will imbue the books with a realism that will heighten your readers' enjoyment of your work.

When writing your next villain, give him or her as detailed a backstory as your protagonist. TV's Buffy and Firefly provide some great examples of well-developed, three-dimensional villains to use as inspiration.