Among the arts, writing is fairly unique in that the great majority of people can participate in it without any special training. Not accounting for natural talent, the best that most of us can do is draw something vaguely cat-shaped and butcher an Oasis song on karaoke night. On the other hand, writing is something […]

Let’s say you’re writing a story that’s set in your hometown. Your family has lived there for generations, and your tiny, myopic grandfather has told you at length about every tale the sleepy little town has to tell. You know the exact date it was first settled, who the key players were, and every juicy

In a previous post, I referred to a phenomenon known as ‘the gap’. To summarise, ‘the gap’ is the pit in your stomach you feel when you measure your ability as a journeyman writer against writers who inspire you. The difference in skill can be discouraging, but it also serves as proof that persistence pays

There are some subjects that most writers’ instinct is to steer completely clear of, lest they incur the wrath or ire of their readers. In the digital age, where anything you’ve ever said publicly can and will be used against you, this is a particularly novel concern. Unfortunately, as a result of these concerns, there

If you’ve ever sought out tips for learning a skill—any skill, really—one of the first pieces of advice you were likely exposed to was some variation of the ‘less is more’ argument. In other words, you were told the best approach to learning is to practice regularly in short bursts, as opposed to sitting with

What would a story be without any of its characters? A whole lot more than you think! Whether your manuscript takes place in the stars, an alternate universe, or right here on good ol’ planet earth, your story is only as alive as the world it takes place in. No matter who they are, characters

In last week’s issue of Writer’s Connect (Issue 77), we took a look at the art of making a smarmy antagonist eat their own words at a pivotal moment. Aside from the sheer satisfaction of an unlikeable character getting what’s coming to them, there’s another element at play here that really makes the moment shine.

A big part of what makes books such vivid, cinematic experiences is the way the author moves from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, and chapter to chapter. From choice of words to the sequencing of events, the arrangement of a manuscript is what makes it flow from one beat to the next. Sometimes that