Writing tips

Description is critical in good, immersive fiction. It first and foremost enables the reader to richly imagine the world that a writer has created. But good description does more than provide the sensory and physical details crucial in setting, characterization, action, and world building.  Read more

I do not write character studies or atmospheric stories contemplating the nature of good and evil. I write foot-to-the-floor page-turners that race from start to finish, featuring whipsawing plot twists and surprise endings. (A recent review suggested that readers should send me their chiropractic bills.)

"Kill your darlings."

This venerable nugget of writing advice is often attributed to William Faulkner, though in fact the British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch said it first. In a 1913-1914 series of published lectures at Cambridge University titled On the Art of Writing, Quiller-Couch said:  Read more

Wanda Whiteley on the six things she learned as she moved from editor to author, as well as some things to consider once you have a manuscript that you're happy with.

What is the first-person point of view? Well, the answer is pretty simple. We all use the first-person point of view daily. If you've ever recounted a personal story to your friends, then you've used the first-person point of view. At least, I hope you did because it would be strange to tell a personal story from a third-person point of view, or stranger, second.  Read more