Fiction

What would a great story be without great characters? Not much if you ask me. Here are some tips to help you develop characters for your novel or short story.

Most everyone loves a good story. Since our ancestors first gathered around the campfire and told tales, we've come to crave the emotional roller-coaster ride that a compelling story provides....

In children's publishing, middle grade refers to readers between the ages of 8 and 12. To capture this audience, your novel should be fast-paced, action-packed and include plenty of dialogue. Gory...

You’ve probably read books in which the characters are dull and not very interesting. You might not of finished reading the book, and it’s one of the main reasons that fiction fails. Uninteresting...

To write a story that sells, you must first understand what a story is. Here is a simple formula: "SOMEBODY WANTS SOMETHING AND HAS A HARD TIME GETTING IT." Let's break this down into...

When writers come up with a good storyline, they have to find ways to get people interested in reading it from start to finish. An effective opening is largely responsible for making that happen....

Story resolution, or denouement, is one of many literary elements that compose a well-written tale. This takes place after the climax of the story. The resolution concludes the action and ensures...

You've decided to write a book and have some characters in mind. The only tricky part is how to get your characters to come alive in your book. They need to be multi-dimensional, and the only...

Writing stories is a long process. Write a love story by focusing on your main character’s emotional state of mind during a storyline. Many love stories begin with the main character...

Writing a good story ending means wrapping up all the loose ends you created, in all the story lines you wrote for your characters. Readers prefer a happy ending, so consider that as you resolve...

As writers we are always told to write what we know. How can we write an effective story if we do not truly know our main characters? Here are some ways you can become friends, arch rivals or...

Characters in a science fiction story provide the anchor to reality that readers need to be drawn into what could otherwise be an unbelievable story. This means that character development is even...

Sometimes a writer's biggest obstacle is him or herself. Using story webs can give you the burst of encouragement you may need to jump over that wall.

A narrative story is written from the writer's point of view and can include the writer's feelings and view point on a certain event. The narrative story is suppose to make a point which is either...

Characterization is the means an author uses to describe or develop a character for the reader. The brevity of a short story insures that there will be few characters. The main character is the...

Following the plot of a short story is fine, but the discerning reader will be able to identify the theme of the story. The theme is the message the writer uses the story to convey to the reader...