Writing Short Stories
In the world of fiction writing, most industry insiders heavily suggest getting some shorter pieces published before querying, or possibly even before writing a longer work like a novel. There […]
A Writer’s Guide to Pacing Fiction
It’s something many writers, especially those at the beginning of their career, don’t think a lot about—but make no mistake, good pacing is absolutely one of the most crucial elements […]
Writing Death and Grief
Few topics are as complex, emotionally rich, and broad as death and our extremely varied reactions to it. Many, many, if not most fictional stories somehow touch on mortality, and […]
All About Subplots
In my opinion, any good story of significant length needs at least one subplot. Secondary plots serve to add complexity, increase tension and impact, underscore the main plot, and generally […]
Writing Addiction in Fiction
As a writer of emotional, character-based stories, there are few topics I find more rich and complex than addiction. There’s so much potential for both tragedy and redemption, and people […]
Historical Fiction: Tips & Resources
I’ll never understand people who find history boring. It’s all like one ridiculous, bloody, passionate soap opera and it’s real. I find it fascinating to imagine long lost lives just […]
One Thing Led to Another: Mastering Plot
*This is the second of five posts in collaboration with The Ice Colony on the elements of storytelling. Last month we tackled character development. Now we’re onto plot. Plotting a […]
Essential Apps for Writers
Part of being successful as a writer is finding a routine that works for you. Over the past several years, I’ve developed my own personal writing process. TLDR—I couldn’t do […]
Chapter by Chapter: What Makes a Good Scene
Most writers, myself included, can attest to the fact that even once you’ve got a killer plot and great characters, writing a novel can be difficult on a chapter to […]
How to Edit Your Own Work
Oh, God. I hate editing. I love writing. And unfortunately, if you want to be a halfway decent writer, you need to do a lot of editing. Over and over […]
Fiction Writing Tips
Over the past several months, I’ve found myself aching to write about writing. Other than New York, my family and friends, and my various vices, writing is the only thing […]