Publishing Services for Independent Authors
One of the biggest hurdles when improving a story is moving past its original form. While authors instinctively set to work improving character, dialogue, description, action, and voice, most consider the first plot structure they set down on the page to be the definitive version. As a consequence, important elements of a story are improved, but they all remain married to the most basic version of …
[Read more...] about Do You Really Need To Start At The Beginning?
Editing your story is, if we’re honest, more than half the battle of completing it. The first draft is a rush of creativity, but it’s in the editing that you turn it into a well-oiled machine that (crucially) is more concerned with entertaining the reader than acting as an outlet for the author. The technical, word-by-word editing is, if not easy, at least approachable. You can break it down …
[Read more...] about How (And When) To Stop Front-Loading Your Story
People give up and put books down for any number of reasons, but if we understand the most common causes, we can intercept them during the writing process. As writers expend all their energy actually writing the book and expend all their sleep freaking out about publication routes, it’s easy to lose sight of this one pressing question: are people going to want to read this book all the way to the …
[Read more...] about 5 Reasons Readers Give Up On Books… And How To Avoid Them
No creative medium can boast as explosive a conception as video games. While the earliest video game was created in 1947, the industry didn’t really get started until Pong burst onto the scene in the 1970s. Since then, it’s been one monumental success after another and, today, video games are a multi-billion-dollar industry, are popular across a whole range of demographics, and have spawned a …
[Read more...] about How To Write About Video Games In Fiction
Sometimes, two plots are better than one. As much as brevity and (comparative) minimalism generally reveal the best form of a story, there are occasions where your central plot will benefit from being paired with a back-up narrative. These secondary narratives, generally less complex than the main narrative and focused on supporting characters, are often known as the ‘B plot’, and they may be the …
[Read more...] about Adding A ‘B Plot’ Is The Simple Way To Improve Your Story
Ever spend a day’s worth of writing time on your first line? If so, you’re not alone; many authors believe their story will live or die on the strength of their first line. They’re not completely wrong – your opening does matter – but it’s not the all-or-nothing affair many people imagine. Not only that, but there’s serious risk involved in focusing too much on your first line. Yes, a great …
[Read more...] about Does Your First Line Really Matter?
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