For Writers
© Raissa Figueroa
If You've Ever Wanted to Write a Book, Here's How
Grammar/ Technical Resources Does your novel pass the readability test? Automatic Readability Checker (Free Text Readability Consensus Calculator) Writing for your Audience – Flesch-Kincaid Readability Tests
Online Utility Tool - Check your own manuscript for readability.
Grammarly Punctuation Checker
Word Association Network
Formatting Your Manuscript
More Free Tools for Authors: Grammar Checkers A Simple Technique for Writers to Cope with Information Overload
Word Count & Chapter Length Word Count Guide: How Long Is a Book, Short Story, or Novella? Word Count for Novels and Children's Books: The Definitive Post | How Long Should a Book Be? The Age Levels for Children’s Books You Should Know
The Industry Standard for Word Counts (PB, MG, YA, Novels)
AR Book Finder - Find the word counts of your favorite books
Word Count Dracula
Rules of the Road: Chapter Length, and Chapter Length Consistency
Chapter Length Matters. Here's Why.
Guidelines for Word Count (Bookends Literary) Tips and Tricks to Fix Word Count Issues Guidelines for Word Count
Character Driven Stories Character Development: 12 Steps, Arcs, & Guides What Does Your Hero Want? What is a Character Arc?
Want Memorable Characters? Focus on Little Things
5 Steps to Writing Great Character Chemistry
Michael Hauge: Inner Conflict
11 Secrets to Writing an Effective Character Description
What Does Your Hero Want? #6 Revealing your Hero's Desires
Character Grid
6 Requirements for Writing Better Character Goals
7 Reasons Your Characters Feel Flat
7 Things Your Character is Hiding
2 Different Types of Lies Your Character Believes
How to Make Your Supportive Characters Shin e
Never Say You Can't Survive: People are Only as Interesting as their Relationships
Rules of Writing Large Casts of Characters
6 Crucial Character Relationships The Reasons Readers Didn't Care About Your Protagonist (and 4 Tips on Making them Care) Lesson 8: Secondary Characters Writing Character Thoughts 7 Tips for Creating Awesome Characters 5 Things Your Characters Need Get Real (Donald Maas How to Handle Character Backstory in Your Novel Don't Be Too Easy on Your Characters 4 Ways to Discover Your Protagonist's Identity Make Every Character Count How to Write Character Arcs Use Telling Details to Connect Description to Character 8 Tips to Make an Unlikeable Character Likable 7 Tips for Writing Stronger, More Realistic Characters 5 Tips for Writing and Structuring Effective Turning Points for Your Characters What is Your Character Hiding: The Power of Secrets How to Reveal a Character's Internal Conflict 9 Positive Characters Arcs in the Enneagram Positive Trait Thesaurus Character Motivation Thesaurus 12 Dos and Don'ts of Revealing Critical Backstory in a Novel Infuse a Character's Desires Into Their Observations Other Ways to Write a Hero Creating Vivid Description The Power of Names How Archetypes Changed My Life and Writing
Antagonists
Enter the Antagonist - No Scratch That- Enter the Antagonists, Plural
Let Your Villains Take the Lead
There is No Bad Guy: What to do when your Antagonist isn't a Villain
The Four Main Types of Epic Antagonists
Negative Trait Thesaurus
10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist
Qualities of a Great Nemesis #1: Power
Writing Unlikeable Characters Readers Will Root For A First Class Bad Guy: How the X-Men Can Help You Craft a Better Antagonist
Plotting Manuscript Length: How Long Should a Children’s Book Be? Pacing in Writing: 10 Powerful Ways to Keep Readers Hooked How to Write an Unforgettable Ending How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method
Janice Hardy on plotting
25 Ways To Plot, Plan and Prep Your Story
The Plot Clock: The Structure Template that Saved My Career
Plotting with Michael Hague's Six Stage Plot Structure How to Tell if Your Story Has Too Much Plot, Not Enough Character
Why Your Plot isn't Working
Story Structure: The 5 Key Turning Points of All Stories
Novel Outline Template
Kishotenketsu for Beginners: An Introduction to Four Act Structure 4 Questions to Prevent Plot Holes 10 Fixes to the Most Common Plot Problems in Novels The Midpoint as the Swivel Point of Your Plot's Linked Structure 4 Questions to Prevent Plot Holes Plot Your Novel in Three Simple Steps What are Pinch Points and Where Do They Go?
Conflict in Fiction: What it Really Is and Why It's Important to Plot Making Story Structure Your Own Losing the Plot: Writing By the Seat of Your Pants Close Off Your Protagonist's Easy Off-Ramps How to Pull Off a Plot Twist Five Tips for Creating Subplots How Perfect Does Your Structural Timing Have to Be? How to Outline a Thriller Novel that Works
Planning Your Novel 6 Tips on Writing for Children Writing Insights Part Two: The Rough Draft
Start Your Outline with These Four Questions
My 20 Step Plan to Writing a Book Part 1 (Steps 1-10)
So, You Want to Write a Series
25 Steps to Being a Traditionally Published Author
How to Outline a Novel
Worksheets for Writers
Premise Palooza! Generating Great Story Ideas
Gripping Stories: How to Write Them Basics Of Plot Structure The 7 Main Story Elements and Why They Matter The Main Reason Your Story Premise is Important How to Make Your Novel Un-put-d own-able
5 Great Plot Hacks for Finding a Story Quickly
Drafting
Sentence Flow: Fixing Choppy Writing
Top 3 Tools for Writing Fast (video with Jesse Q. Sutanto) Chris Tebbetts: The Secret is, There is No Secret Avoid Aimless Stage Directions It's About Time: Backstory, Flashback, and Chronology Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Rushing the Drafting Process
Pacing
4 Pacing Tricks to Keep Readers' Attention
How Pacing Helps Readers Care about Our Characters
7 Tools for Pacing a Novel & Keeping Your Novel Moving at the Right Pace
7 Quick Tips for Mastering Pacing in Your Story Why Does this Read Slow? 4 Story Weaknesses that Lead to a Sagging Middle Character Time and Reader Time Pacing Your Exposition in Writing 14 Tips for Dealing with the Passage of Time in a Story How to Use Chapter Cliffhangers in Your Fiction
Worksheets
Story Structure Worksheets
Writer's Notebook Worksheets Worksheets for Writers: Jami Gold
Show, Don't Tell
Writing Insights Part One: Becoming a Writer
More Showing, Less Telling
When to Show, When to Tell, and When to Do a Bit of Both
How to Show Emotion on the Page: The Cheat Sheets
3 Tips for Improving Show, Don't Tell How to Get Emotion Onto the Page
Critique: 4 Ways to Write Gripping Internal Narra tive
The Three Words That Almost Ruined Me as a Writer: Show, Don't Tell
When to Tell and Not Show Filter Words Rules Schmules: Don't Follow the Rules, Tell a Good Story Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Omitting Sensory Details 3 Tips for Improving Show Don't Tell The Static Hiss What Happens On and Off the Page in Your Novel
POV
Me or You? Choosing Between First and Third Point of View
Want to Evoke Emotions in Readers?
Everything You Need To Know About Writing a Third Person POV
How to Use Close Third-Person to Get Closer to Your Characters
How to Write a Novel with Multiple Points of View
Writing Multiple Points of View
5 Questions About How to Balance Multiple POVs in Your Story
How to Write a Novel with Multiple Points of View
How to Write Multiple POVs the 'Game of Thrones' Way How to Write a Novel in Present Tense: The Pros and Cons of Present Tense Writing Omniscient Narrators; How to Know When to Know it All Third Person Omniscient vs. Limited vs. Head Jumping All About Perspectives in Novels Third Person Point of View
Voice
What is the Writer's Voice? How Do You Find Your Writing Voice?
From the Editor's Desk: More Tips on Finding Your Voice
Voice: A #DVpit Blog Hop Roundtable Discussion: Part 1
Voice: Writing Words that Sing A Surefire Technique for Finding Your Voice How to Find Your Writer's Voice What is Voice in Writing (Examples Included)
Sequels
5 Rules for How to Write a Sequel for your Book
How to Plan a Book Series The Power of Chiastic Story Structure (Especially in a Series)
Storytelling
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling
10 Things to Make an Editor Stop Reading Your Manuscript
7 Qualities of High Concept Stories
TED: Clues to a Great Story: Andrew Stanton
How to Use Foreshadowing
How to Raise the Stakes in Your Novel
The 10-Step Checklist to Writing and Above Average Novel
The Efficient Author's Cheat Sheet for Creating Suspense and Tension
An Easy Tip for Tightening Your Novel's Plot
Psst! Novelists - Steal These Screenwriting Secrets! How to Know Which Parts of Your Story Readers will Like Best (It Isn't Always What You Think)
5 Ways Writers (Try to) FakeTheir Way to Good Storytelling
No Story Conflict? Explore Your Options Wired for Story (TED talk by Lisa Cron) Storytelling Tip: Follow the Pain Story Theory and the Quest for Meaning The Four Doorways Into Story and How to Use Them to Create a Bestselling Novel Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling (part 1)
Action Scenes
How to Choreograph a Great Action Scene
Blow-by-Blow: Writing Action and Fight Scenes - 5 Tips Tips for Writing A Memorable Fighting Scene Tips on Writing a Fighting Scenes with Multiple Characters/Allies How to Build Tension in Your Fight Scenes
Beginnings
How to Start a Story: 9 Tips from Our Editors
Start Your Novel with a Bang
Starting a Novel With Setting Description
Make Your Novel's Opening Pop
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