In this article, we’re going to explore the art of mystery novels – looking at what makes a good mystery novel and how you can create suspense that keeps your readers on the edge of their seats, and weave a conundrum that keeps them guessing… What makes a good mystery novel? All good novels contain…
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Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer is a master at dictating her novels and novellas. Of her 18 published books, ten were written solely by dictation. This guest post by Sawyer will take you through the benefits she now enjoys in every writing session. When authors think about dictation, the first thing that comes to mind is the…
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Sometimes characters come to us fully formed, complete with desires, flaws and quirks. Other times, they may come to us as rough sketches, with a beating heart, but needing fleshing out. And sometimes the characters don’t want to come at all. They hide in the shadows, refusing to show themselves. In this article, we’re going to explore methods…
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Thrillers and mysteries are one of the most popular genres. Mystery readers gobble them up and are hungry for more. So if you want to write novels, this is a great genre to get into. And writing a mystery can be hugely satisfying. But it’s hard. There are clues to seed, tension to ratchet up,…
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There are many aspects to writing a good novel: beautiful prose, exciting conflict, compelling themes – but there is probably little more important than the main character arc. Humans are drawn to stories because they resonate with our own lives and help us learn more about who we are. The best stories teach us how…
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If you like this, you’ll LOVE the Novel Factory. It conatins character builders, plot templates, writing guides and so much more. Click here to claim your FREE 30 day trial! As part of our series of resources on the Hero’s Journey, we’ve put together some Hero’s Journey examples in popular fiction. The examples below are:…
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Guest Post: P. S. Hoffman creates essays on writing, and guides for authors. He delves into the techniques used by best-selling authors to tell unforgettable stories. His latest book, Fantastic Characters, will show you how to write addictive heroes and magnetic villains. Get more details here. Do you want to write your novel even faster? Do…
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We are very pleased to have secured a guest post for you from Alex Cabal, creator of the Internet’s largest and best (in our opinion) writing critique community, Scribophile. Alex will explain what critique is, how to do it, and why it makes you a better writer. Enjoy! Getting feedback on your work is one…
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There’s something delicious about writing a good villain – perhaps it’s about letting our dark side peek out, safe in the knowledge that it’s only fiction and nobody is really going to get hurt. But writing a good villain isn’t as easy as coming up with a good cackle and kicking a few puppies. That…
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There are many aspects to creating fictional characters which are important – backstory, flaws, quirks, and relationships, for example. But if you want to write stories that keep your readers gripped, then there’s one aspect of character creation you really need to make sure you understand and master. And that’s character motivation. Motivation is where…
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