May 28, 2020

We’ve discussed POV and voice, but what does the term “word choice” mean, how does it affect our writing, and what goes into choosing the right words?

Word Choice: What Does It Mean for Our Writing?

May 26, 2020

Our story is—in many respects—what our story’s POV tells readers it is. So what do we want readers to get out of our story and chosen POV?

What Do Readers Want from a Story’s POV?

May 19, 2020

Third-person POV ranges from the most distant to the deepest perspectives, so how can we tell where our story falls on the POV spectrum to avoid problems?

Is Our Story’s Point of View Really What We Think It Is?

May 12, 2020

Much of writing is subjective, so it can be hard to know how to treat writing advice. Is it a hard-and-fast rule, a guideline, or a personal preference?

Breaking the “Rules”: Will It Be Easy or Hard?

May 5, 2020

For dialogue attribution, action beats are more flexible than dialogue tags for our writing, adding details to our story and immersing readers in the scene.

How to Improve Our Story with Action Beats

April 30, 2020

As authors and audiences have diversified, it might be time to look at the standards for formatting non-English words and explore some of our options.

How Should We Format Non-English Words?

April 28, 2020

To get from our opening pages to the rest of our story, can an Inciting Incident story beat help us? How is that beat different from the First Plot Point?

What’s the Difference Between an Inciting Incident and a First Plot Point?