Dialogue and Character Motivations
Dialogue can be tricky. Instead of being told by your usual narrator, dialogue lets each of your characters speak for themselves. The...
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Keeping Your Speakers Straight
Here are some tips for using simple mechanics to help readers keep the speaker straight.
Show, Don't Tell
Every writer has heard this advice: Show, don't tell. It's all over the online writing communities and is often presented as some sort of...
Said is NOT Dead
When writing dialogue, it can feel like you are writing an endless stream of names, pronouns, and dialogue tags. It can be a delicate...
Using Showing to Write Compelling Dialogue
A conversation which doesn’t effect the story, no matter how dynamic, realistic, and well-written, will feel like an unnecessary aside.
Filtering the World through a PoV Character
One common mistake that writers make is to describe the character sensing or thinking about things, rather than to describe them directly.
Why Main Characters Matter
Books are fun because they can get inside other people’s heads. You can experience another life through another person.
Beginning Your Book
Whoever you’re trying to impress (an agent, a publisher, or even a reader), the beginning of your book is your one and only chance.
A New Perspective on Point of View
Every scene, every line, every word is from a point of view. This is how you draw your readers in and make them connect emotionally.