How to Write a Good Ending

How to Write a Good Ending

This video is all about how to write a good ending to a story. Whether you are looking to be traditionally published or are writing picture books, the main key to writing a good ending is to be familiar with what your audience wants. We’ve also got you covered on writing endings for various genres—from romance to fantasy.

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The Importance of a Nuanced Character Arc

The Importance of a Nuanced Character Arc

Few of us change overnight. We might wake up one morning and realize we’ve changed, but when we look back we can see it was the result of a million little things, day after day, that brought us to our current state. How do we build a character arc like this—showing gradual, compelling, believable change?

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Craft a Killer Fantasy Premise Using Good Versus Evil

Craft a Killer Fantasy Premise Using Good Versus Evil

A fantasy premise that doesn’t engage on any themes of good versus evil can feel empty, but when those lines are too stark, it can feel a bit thin. So how do you find the balance?

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Reaction into Action: How to Turn Negative Feedback Around
In Favor of Present Tense Writing

In Favor of Present Tense Writing

One of the first decisions we have to make before writing is what tense to use. Present tense writing is often overlooked in favor of past tense—but when is present tense the better choice?

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Put Your Words Down, Flip Them, and Reverse Them: Writing Your Memoir in Reverse Chronology
Audience, Craft, Writing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline Joiya Morrison-Efemini Audience, Craft, Writing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline Joiya Morrison-Efemini

Put Your Words Down, Flip Them, and Reverse Them: Writing Your Memoir in Reverse Chronology

If you’re writing a memoir, you have to write your life events exactly the way they happened—but you don’t have to write them in order! Give your readers a backwards walk through your remarkable life with reverse chronology.

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Creative Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction

Nonfiction gets a bad rap for being dry and dull, but it doesn’t have to be. Many of the same liberties can be taken in creative nonfiction as in fiction. If you have something important to share with the world from your own life, this may be your category. Some literary flair can amp up your story and make it more approachable to your readers.

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Avoid Overwriting

Avoid Overwriting

Overwriting happens often in early drafts, as writers try to get the story down and figure they’ll fix things later. Sometimes details draw us in, but often they can distract readers, pushing them to think about unrelated things ... and then to stop reading.

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How To Be More Intentional With Chapter Structure

How To Be More Intentional With Chapter Structure

Chapter structure, like plot structure, is key to achieving a believable and engaging narrative. Here’s how to make sure your chapters are complete and doing as much work for you and your story as possible.

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The Body and Soul of Story

The Body and Soul of Story

Stories are like people. They have a body, and a soul. The body is the plot, the actions that happen. And the soul is the character, the protagonist, the key person (or persons) bound by the circumstances of the plot and forced into decisions.

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Write What You Know

Write What You Know

Here's a video follow-up to our blog post on the old writing adage "write what you know." A closer look at what this expression really means and how you can make it work in your writing.

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Writing Secondary Characters

Writing Secondary Characters

Even though narratives tend to focus on the life of one character – sometimes a few in multiple POV – the people in that character’s life are equally important. Giving them personalities, sometimes backstories and arcs of their own, are what make the narrative as a whole more realistic.

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Violet Prose in Writing