Fiction Craft

Emerging writers often focus on plot and action—both essential!—but the true pulse of horror comes from what festers just beneath the surface.

Tips from a career editor on how the type of POV you choose affects the way you give readers access to your characters’ thoughts and feelings.

Understanding what holds your characters back from loving or being loved fully will equip you to write a romance with a compelling arc.

One author learns that putting boundaries—such as genre expectations—around creativity can actually stimulate it rather than inhibit it.

One author finds that using digital tools to create a visual story grid is the trick he needs to crystallize his ideas and never miss a beat.

No matter what story we read, we bring ourselves with it. That’s why sensitivity should be the forethought, not an afterthought, in our world-building.

Every narrative point of view has something it does well and something it doesn’t do as well. Here’s a look at how they compare.

A few simple language shifts can take your reader from watching people on the page to feeling like they’re right inside the scene.

One writer asserts that Scrooge’s arc isn't that of becoming a new person, but confronting his core wound and rediscovering his true self.

Thriller writers don’t always need a plot to get the creative juices flowing—they need a trigger, a simple idea that creates unease.

If the natural world is important to your story, be sure to engage it on a deeper level than descriptions of pretty scenery.

Studying the structural choices in classic literature is one of the best ways to understand how story architecture fuels emotional impact.

When writing mystery or thriller, you earn your ending by properly laying the groundwork so that readers don’t feel cheated by plot twists.

To keep readers engaged, build each scene toward a breaking point then reveal something new about the characters, their world, or the plot.

In story as in art, what’s hinted at in the shadows can add intriguing layers of depth and interest.

Protagonist, antagonist, rising and falling action, arc of change, emotion—all must be developed in a picture book, and in under 500 words.

Triumphs are most compelling when the hero has to fight for them, so even quiet stories need plenty of obstacles, challenges, and uncertainties.

One author discovers that when it comes to heavily-researched historical fiction, one’s ducks should be in a row before tackling NaNoWriMo.

There will absolutely be tape lines to adjust and plot questions to answer along the way, so don’t let the prep prevent messy progress.

Worry less about creating a first sentence that will shock and awe, and more about drawing readers into the story one link of the chain at a time.

Struggling with the plot of your current work-in-progress? Maybe one of these tried and true solutions will do the trick for you.

It's easier to write beginnings and endings but often the middle is left sagging—not out of the lack of skill or care, but out of confusion.

Spooky season is the perfect time to write that Gothic fiction tale you've been brewing. Learn the key genre conventions and how to outline your story.

An in era of episodic adventure stories, Sense and Sensibility offered a novel with what modern readers would recognize as plot structure.

Whether your writing partner is your spouse, best friend, or a colleague, here are some tips on setting expectations and sharing the work.