The book that I’ve been querying is many things, but at its base, it’s a whodunnit-style mystery. Sure, I also throw in a YA coming-of-age narrative, LGBTQ+ Romance, and some paranormal intrigue… but I spent a lot of time researching and studying the mechanics of the mystery genre while crafting my novel. Like many areasContinue reading “Tips For Writing a Mystery Novel”
Tag Archives: Fiction writing
Add Tension and Build Suspense with Try/Fail Cycles
In the first imaginings of our stories, we often have an end goal in mind. Character X is put into situation Y and comes out changed (whether that’s for better or for worse depends on whether it’s a positive or negative character arc). Our story would be rather short if the goal you set forContinue reading “Add Tension and Build Suspense with Try/Fail Cycles”
10 Reasons Why Writing a Novel is Like Running a Marathon
Happy November! This means we are just kicking off National Novel Writing Month. If somehow you’re unfamiliar despite my preptober posts last month, it is when insane people, myself included, participate in this annual event to write a novel (50,0000 words) in one month. It’s truly a test of endurance and motivation. In tandem withContinue reading “10 Reasons Why Writing a Novel is Like Running a Marathon”
Preptober Week Three: World Building and Extras
So far, we have focused our preptober efforts on the dual arm of plot and character, but those are not the only two considerations while planning a story. This week is to prep all the remaining details that are pertinent to your story. Planning out the rest of this “stuff” includes world building, but itContinue reading “Preptober Week Three: World Building and Extras”
Preptober Week Two: Characters
Welcome to the second week of Preptober! This week, I’m focusing on developing my characters. Believable characters are unique and three-dimensional, but there’s a lot to consider. Each character has specific attributes, like appearance, personality, and a backstory, that make them relatable. A character’s motivations inform their actions and decisions, creating the narrative arc ofContinue reading “Preptober Week Two: Characters”
5 Ways to Use the Emotion Thesaurus
One of my favorite writing craft books/resources has got to be Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi’s The Emotion Thesaurus. It truly is a Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. Creating authentic and engaging emotions in your narrative can help evoke emotions in your reader, which will create a stronger connection to the story and a betterContinue reading “5 Ways to Use the Emotion Thesaurus”
Tips for Adding Humor Part 2: Types of Humor
A couple weeks ago I wrote up an article with plenty of insights about injecting humor into your narrative. One of those insights happened to be identifying types of humor that you find funny. Since there are a number of different types of humor, I decided to make your life easier and condense them intoContinue reading “Tips for Adding Humor Part 2: Types of Humor”
Tips and Ideas for Creating Holidays
Holidays are fun whether they are real or imagined. Fictional holidays tend to pop up often in science fiction and fantasy genres. The inclusion of holidays can round out details of world building, provided a point of connection between the reader and the story, and act as a plot device. As a festive fanatic andContinue reading “Tips and Ideas for Creating Holidays”
Tips for Writing Scenes that Steam & Sizzle
Romance is always a feature in my writing, because I love love in all shapes and sizes. This isn’t always physical romance, but let’s just say I’m trash for whenever things get spicy. To wrap up my romantic February, I’m talking all about love scenes. Believe it or not, writing a good love scene isn’tContinue reading “Tips for Writing Scenes that Steam & Sizzle”
Creating A Book Playlist: with Guest Author Mindy McKinley
All throughout February, I’m talking about love and romance, so I wanted to feature a Romance writer as this month’s guest author. Mindy McKinely debuted her first romance novel in 2020 and since then has rapid-fire released two sequels and a few steamy novellas to boot. I had the pleasure of reading an ARC (AdvanceContinue reading “Creating A Book Playlist: with Guest Author Mindy McKinley”
Newbie to Novelist 